


Stalemate

by dementorsatemysoup



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, An Overabundance of Pop Culture References, Attempt at Humor, Chess, Game of Thrones spoilers, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Rodney, Rodney Doesn't Get People, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-02-27 03:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2677535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementorsatemysoup/pseuds/dementorsatemysoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a football accident benches John for the season, he joins the chess team. Rodney, naturally, has a problem with this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. High School Never Ends

**Author's Note:**

> The story nobody asked for, but I wrote anyway because I've got a lot of time on my hands. Also, this is my first foray in the McShep fandom. It's nice here... y'all have a couch :)
> 
> I'm probably making a fool out of myself writing this, but I'm having a lot of fun doing it. So, thanks for reading and drop me a comment if you have the chance.
> 
> Bye!!
> 
> Oh, one more thing, the main SG-1 characters are teachers and the Atlantis crew are the students. Don't ask me why I did that, I don't even know.

_They are surrounded by a horde of space aliens. Rodney has tried everything he can to save them, but he knows it's no use. They are going to die. He turns to Samantha Carter, her long, blond hair falling out of the braid she has it in. He opens his mouth to apologize, but she puts a finger to his lips and whispers, "I need to tell you something."_

_"What?" he leans in, eager to hear what she has to say. Maybe this is the love confession he's been waiting for; Rodney can hardly contain his excitement._

_"You're drooling," Sam says, confusing him._

_"What?"_

_"_ _I said..."_ someone shoves his arm, startling him awake. "You're drooling. It's disgusting." Rodney opens his eyes, groaning when he sees Jeannie standing over him, her hands on her hips, a pinched look on her face.

"Go away."

"Mom says you have to take me to school," she says, ignoring him, and he waves her away, turning over so his back is to her. She pushes his shoulder again, whining, "Mer, Mom says..."

"I heard you," he barks pulling his pillow over his head.

"I have to be at school in twenty minutes." When he doesn't move to get up, she sighs, loudly, in his ear. "Rodney, get up."

"Oh my God," he exclaims but sits up, fixing his sister with a death glare.

She holds her hands up, faux-fear on her face, and sarcastically says, "Oh no, I've unleashed the Dragon."

"Get out of my room," he snaps and she giggles but obliges, closing the door behind her. Rodney waits until he hears her footsteps disappear around the corner before swinging his legs off his bed and standing up. He stretches, silently wondering how much trouble he'd be in if he 'forgot' to take Jeannie to school. Worst case, his mother will ground him for a week, but he's got one friend (if he can call Carson a friend) and they hardly hangout outside of school. Even she knows grounding him is about as effective as telling him not to stay out past curfew. His mother has to face the facts: she raised a social reject, and that's all Rodney will ever be.

It doesn't help that he can't seem to get along with people. Numbers and facts he understands, physics is a walk in the park for him, and he's been reading novels since the age of seven. He's intelligent, a certified genius, but he still can't hold a conversation with someone without pointing out their fallacies (or the ones he sees and therefore knows are there despite what Carson says). Rodney has had to deal with people for the past sixteen years, and he's come to one definite conclusion: people, in general, are stupid. It's as simple as that, and no matter how many years go by that is never ever going to change.

There are exceptions to the rule. Carson Beckett for one. Rodney's known Carson since grade three, when he and (Carson's now girlfriend) Laura Cadman had been tied together for a three-legged race. After the race, after Rodney had to sit through a never ending supply of words from Laura, she had asked for a kiss on the cheek from both Rodney and Carson. The latter did it because he's too nice to say no, his face beet red, but Rodney only agreed out of protest. However, when both boys leaned in to kiss her cheek, Cadman realized her shoes were untied and stooped down to tie them. So Rodney had his first kiss with a nervous boy named Carson, and they've been friends ever since.

Samantha Carter is another exception. Rodney met Samantha Carter during band class in grade six. He had been waiting for Carson and had been fortunate enough to nearly run into her while she had been leaving the room, staggering under a stack of books. She offered him a smile, and he offered to carry some of her books. He's not sure what he said exactly, but by the time they got to her fifth period math class, she took her books back and said, "Has anyone ever told you that you need to work on your people skills?" Rodney has been in love with her ever since.

After changing into yesterday's cargo pants, dirty Chucks, and a Batman t-shirt, Rodney runs a hand through his short hair and walks out of his room, heading down the hallway towards the kitchen. His mother is sitting at the table, her nose almost touching the morning paper, her reading glasses sitting on top of her head. Jeannie sits across from her, eating a bowl of Cheerios, looking over the Arts and Leisure section. Rodney doesn't acknowledge either one and they return the favor. Instead he makes a direct beeline for the cereal cabinet. He studies the cereal boxes inside, crinkling his nose. His mother is on another health kick again.

He closes the cabinet, opting to get something at school, and sits down at the table. His family isn't exactly loquacious, at least not since his father left his mother for some woman named Janice. Before that, his parents would make passive aggressive comments towards each other until one ended up so angry they stormed out of the room (usually his father). Now, he's lucky to get a 'good morning' from his mother. Jeannie thinks their mother is trying to process what happened, but Rodney disagrees. He thinks she's reveling in the silence for the first time in nearly a decade. Why would their mom ruin a good thing by acknowledging her children?

Jeannie finally closes her paper at a quarter to eight, getting to her feet. She carries her cereal bowl to the sink, rinses it out, and leaves it in there, turning her attention to Rodney. "Ready to go?"

"I guess," he sighs getting to his feet. He collects his bag from the living room, grabs his keys from the counter, and follows his sister out of the house. Before he closes the door, he says, "See you later, Mom."

"We're having meatloaf for dinner," she replies, in lieu of a good-bye, and Rodney can't help snorting. It's a lot better than the complete silence he had gotten yesterday.

Rodney drives a yellow Vespa for one reason: it's cheap. He wants a car, he'd rather  _have_ a car, but it's either this or the bus, and he'd eat his own shoe before he rode the bus. He spent ten years on the thing, he's not spending another second now that he has his license.

"I hate this thing," Jeannie comments wrinkling her nose.

"You're more than welcome to walk," Rodney retorts swinging his leg over the scooter, shoving his lime green helmet on over his head. Jeannie scoffs, but still grabs the extra helmet and puts it on, getting onto the Vespa. Rodney starts the scooter and uses his feet to back out of their driveway. He spots their neighbor, Mr. Woolsey, peeking out his window at them, but Rodney doesn't pay him any attention. Woosley's been out to get him since the sprinkler incident last year (which was totally not his fault despite what Zelenka says... idiot), so Rodney has learned to ignore him.

It takes them ten minutes to get to school. Jeannie is the first off the Vespa, yanking the helmet off her head. She puts it on the seat, fixes her hair, and says, "See you after my cello lesson, Mer."

"Go away," Rodney mutters unstrapping his helmet. She gives him a sarcastic smile and walks away, meeting up with her friend Ford on the way. Rodney doesn't know the boy very well, but from what Jeannie's told him he's really into ROTC. _More power to him,_ Rodney thinks getting off his Vespa. He collects both helmets, not wanting a repeat of the great helmet theft back in August, and carries them into the school.

Atlantis High has approximately 1300 students. Like most schools, it has the standard cliques all forced to intermingle but not required to get along. Rodney, himself, does not belong to a clique. Mostly because you needed a group of friends to be considered a clique. Cadman, who hangs around him  _way_ more than Rodney likes, called them The Social Misfits once. Carson seemed to like the title, Rodney called her an idiot. He does that a lot, but she seems to let it bounce off as if he's joking. He's not, ever... maybe. He doesn't know.

Unlike the movies, jocks didn't randomly give nerds swirlies just because; there wasn't a group of girls standing around insulting everyone and everything that they didn't associate with being cool (they exist they're just far sneakier than movies give them credit for); and Rodney didn't suddenly have to run because the school bully had seen him (there really isn't a single, school bully; at least Rodney hasn't met him or her). High school isn't a John Hughes movie, Rodney is not Anthony Michael Hall, and he isn't looking to steal Molly Ringwald's underwear (he's more of an Ally Sheedy fan). He does get picked on once in a while, mostly because of his intelligence (and the yellow Vespa doesn't exactly help his case), but he doesn't let it bother him. One day they'll be working for him, every single one of his tormentors, and then he'll be on top. He can hardly wait.

"Why do you have that creepy smile on your face?" Carson asks appearing at Rodney's side, and the other boy turns to greet his only friend. He's a little on the pudgy side, with a very Neville Longbottom-esque quality to him, with short brown hair and dark eyes. He used to wear glasses, back in the junior high, but he kept breaking them so his mother finally broke down and gotten him contacts the beginning of year nine. He's also one of the few people who can understand Rodney when he goes into long, drawn out tangents. Mostly because Carson Beckett has the same habit of going into long, drawn out tangents.

"Just thinking about the future," Rodney answers heading towards his locker.

"Samantha Carter is never going to go out with you," Carson retorts keeping pace with the other boy.

"Not that future," Rodney snaps rolling his eyes. "And you don't know. I might wear her down."

"You will never wear her down."

"You're supposed to be my friend."

"Friends don't lie to other friends. It's not my fault the truth hurts, Rodney." Carson gives him a sympathetic look, and Rodney huffs and looks away. He puts the combination into his locker, pulling it open, and shoves the two helmets onto the top shelf.

"Where's Cadman?" he asks feigning curiosity. She's not his favorite topic, but anything is better than the fact that he and Samantha Carter will never be a couple. He's in denial and will be until he graduates and moves far, far away from this town.

"Laura has the flu," Carson answers getting that goofy look on his face whenever his girlfriend is brought up. Rodney is disgusted by his friend and regrets even bringing the bubbly blond up. "I'm going to see her after school. Wanna come?"

"I'd rather eat glass."

"You're gonna have to get used to her eventually. I mean, jeez Rodney, we've been dating since year eight." Carson sounds exasperated, but he sounds that way  _every time_  he tries to convince Rodney to like Cadman.

"Face it, Carson. It's never going to happen." He shuts his locker door, heading towards his first class, and Carson chases after him. "She's loud, obnoxious..."

"You're loud and obnoxious," Carson points out, raising his eyebrows in challenge when Rodney fixes him with a dark look. "You're not even giving her a chance. Ever since grade three..."

"She did it on purpose," Rodney argues pointing at Carson. "She's not an innocent butterfly, Beckett. She is an evil..." he trails off, searching for the right word. "Lemon."

"Lemon?"

"Yes, lemon." He storms away before he can make a bigger ass of himself, leaving his friend shaking his head, and walks into his first period history class. It's taught by a bespectacled man named Daniel Jackson. Rodney did not particularly care for Daniel (personally he didn't care for history period), so he has a habit of making Jackson's classes a little difficult.

"I take it you didn't do the reading, Rodney," Daniel comments when Rodney takes his seat.

"Oh, I did, but I found the subject matter so boring I might not have retained anything useful." He offers Daniel a sarcastic smile, and the older man huffs. Rodney knows, if given the chance, Jackson would kick him out of his class in a heartbeat. Too bad history is required.

"How are you even passing?"

"Because you can't fail brilliance."

"I can fail incompetence."

"Too bad I'm not incompetent."

Daniel wants to argue, Rodney can tell, but he's interrupted by Samantha Carter. She has her hair up in a ponytail today, her barret matching the green blouse she's wearing, and Rodney waves at her. She waves back, turning to Daniel, and says, "Jack wants to see you in his office."

"What? Again?" Daniel sighs loudly but leaves the room.

Samantha turns to Rodney and states, "I see you're in two of my classes this year." Okay, so Samantha Carter is a teacher, but Rodney will be eighteen in a little over a year and a half. Graduation is not that far away. Things could happen.

It takes Rodney a moment to register her comment, but finally he nods and says, "Why waste my talents on a class like this? Math is challenging, this is just a glorified English class. So, yes, I am in two of your classes."

She offers him a smile and says, "Still need to work on those people skills, Rodney." She gives him another wave and leaves the room. Rodney most certainly does not watch her walk away. He's totally wearing her down.

* * *

After school, Rodney has a chess club meeting. He's, by far, the best player on the team. The only person even remotely close to his skill level is Ronon Dex, and that's because the guy comes from an extensive military background. He has a strategic mind, something most of the team lacks, and has nearly beaten Rodney on several occasions ( _nearly_ being the operative term).

When he walks into the room, Ronon (all dreadlocks and leather jacket) is sitting on a desk, talking to Jennifer Keller (one of Rodney's exes-they went on two dates, and she broke up with him because he wouldn't commit). They're talking about some football player who had gotten injured on Friday during the game, but Rodney doesn't care enough about sports to listen so he opts to set up a solo chess game instead.

He's about midway through the game when Teyla Emmagan enters the room, talking quietly to someone, but Rodney doesn't look up to see who it is; too busy kicking his own ass. It's not until a shadow falls over him that he's forced to look up.

"What?"

"You mind if I play the winner?" the voice is familiar, really familiar, but it doesn't click until Rodney gets a good look at his face.

"You have got to be kidding me," Rodney hisses in disbelief shaking his head back and forth furiously.

"Nice to see you, too, Rodney."

"What are you doing here?"

"Since I'm benched." He held up his arm as proof, a cast encasing it. There are over two dozens signatures scrawled across the surface, and Rodney is certain he can see Carson's cramped handwriting in the fray of names. "I thought I'd try my hand at chess club."

No. No, no, no. John Sheppard has not joined the chess club. This is not happening.

It's totally happening. He gets a good look at the sign up sheet during the meeting, Landry having left it on his desk when he excused himself to use the bathroom. John Sheppard is scrawled at the bottom, in green pen, and Rodney decides that life is not fair.

 


	2. Dream a Little Dream of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and support towards this story. I'm sorry it's slow, I'm still trying to find my footing, but enjoy anyway.
> 
> Thanks for reading.

Rodney has known John Sheppard for ten years. The Sheppard family moved to town in the middle of year one, renting out old man Mitchell's place, his son giving them a good deal (mostly because Patrick Sheppard and Cameron Mitchell are old college buddies, and the only reason Rodney knows this is because he heard his mother talking to Mrs. Zelenka about it over the phone). The day he and Sheppard met, Rodney had just dropped his sandwich on the floor in the cafeteria, and John sat across from him and offered half his sandwich. The sandwich had some orange jelly on it (and who even eats orange jelly), and Rodney had a fit about citrus and his allergies. John apologized like the boy scout he is, and opted to give Rodney his apple instead.

For the next four years, like clockwork, John would sit across from Rodney and eat his lunch. They were never friends, though Carson and Sheppard got along quite well, but Rodney eventually got used to having the other boy around. Until John met Evan Lorne and stopped sitting with them. To ten-year-old Rodney, it felt like a betrayal, getting abandoned by his not friend like that, and maybe sixteen-year-old Rodney still feels a little resentment towards John Sheppard. He knows it's not fair, still being mad at Sheppard after all these years, especially since John never outright ignored him. He made it a point to say hi to Rodney in the halls all through junior high, but even those greetings eventually stopped (mostly because Rodney refused to acknowledge him), but it's how Rodney's wired, he cannot help it, and he's learned to live with it.

"What right does he have to join  _my_  club?" Rodney rants as he paces back and forth, his hands waving wildly in the air. "Did Landry take too many blows to the head during his football days? Or is it one of those honor among jocks things? This is completely ridiculous, letting him join. I mean, why can't he join one of your stupid clubs." He swings around, giving his full attention to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Weir is a senior at Atlantis High. At seventeen, she's already set to be class valedictorian, has joined more clubs and organizations than is probably healthy, and seems to get all her homework done on top of volunteering at countless shelters. Rodney has heard some people call her a machine behind her back, and Carson once joked that she's a real life Hermione Granger. And she's looking at Rodney like she wants to slap him in the face.

"What?" He takes a step away from her, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"What club would you be referring to?" Elizabeth states waiting for Rodney to respond. When he doesn't, she presses on anyway, "German Club and French Club are full. Student Council isn't taking any new members. He's already part of Spanish Club. The Debate Team's cut off date was yesterday. Yearbook could take him, but we don't start meetings until November. Or are you referring to the LGBTQA club? The same club that took me two years to get off the ground. The same club that still doesn't get the respect it deserves. Is it that club, Rodney?" He takes another two steps back, watching her warily, but she's far from done. "He chose Chess Club because he wanted to, that's it. Besides, I'm not even in charge of clubs. Why does everyone assume I am?"

"Because you belong to everything," Rodney mutters rubbing the back of his head. She fixes him with a dark stare and points towards the exit. "Alright, fine, sorry I even bothered stopping by."

He turns to walk out of her office (the yearbook editor's office isn't exactly an office, more like a cubby with a half wall), but stops when she says, "Besides, he's already part of the LGBTQA club."

"What?" he swings back around, giving her a questioning look.

"He joined the day after Principal O'Neill okayed it. He was the third person to sign up. I can't exactly offer him a place in a club he already belongs to." She gives him a 'what-can-you-do' look, waving him away, and Rodney turns to leave.

He's about three steps outside before he turns around and asks, "Are you sure...?"

"Good-bye, Rodney!"

* * *

 Jeannie is waiting for him when he exits the school, standing next to his Vespa, looking irritated. She has her cello sitting by her feet, clearly deciding to take it home tonight (isn't that just great), and Rodney can't help rolling his eyes. "Where are we going to put that thing?"

"I don't know, but Mr. Teal'c asked me to practice a bit tonight." Rodney doesn't know Mr. Teal'c, never having any desire to learn a musical instrument (nor the talent), but the guy's been a teacher at the school for years. Apparently he has a very dry sense of humor, but, according to his students, he's one of the best band teachers to ever work at Atlantis High. Carson once pointed him out in the cafeteria, and the only thing Rodney really remembers about the guy is the golden tattoo on his forehead.

_"What's with the tattoo?" he had asked shoveling chicken fingers into his mouth._

_"I don't know, he doesn't like to talk about it.," Carson had replied turning away from Teal'c to look at Rodney, giving him a disgusted look. "You're going to choke one day."_

_"You're a future doctor. You'll save me."_

"Rodney are you even listening to me?" Jeannie asks sounding annoyed.

"Yes, you're bringing that thing home because Mr. Teal'c said so, and we'll probably die in a horrible cello accident." He shoves his extra helmet at her, shoving the other one on his head, and gets on his scooter. "Now come on."

"What's the matter, Rodney?" Jeannie gets onto the back of his Vespa, grabbing her cello from off the ground. "Someone spray your pants with water again?"

"You bring that up again and you're walking," Rodney snaps starting his scooter up. "Besides, I paid Kavanagh back. It took his hair almost two years to grow back."

"Your trick was worse than his."

"He turned a certain body part blue. It wouldn't wash out completely for six months. Mine was nowhere near as cruel." Jeannie doesn't respond, and Rodney figures he's won the argument.

When they get home, Jeannie takes her cello to her room while Rodney falls into a heap onto the couch. He puts his feet on the glass table, grabs the remote off the arm, and turns on the TV. Usually their mother only allows him and Jeannie one hour of television per night, but since she won't be home until five-thirty, Rodney figures he can get a few hours of The Science Channel in before starting his homework. Firefly is on, and no matter how many times he's seen the series, he swears, up and down, that Kaylee looks just like Jennifer. She always tells him he's seeing things, but they could be sisters... if Jennifer  _had_ a sister.

He doesn't pay much attention to the show, already knowing all fourteen episodes by heart, and instead lets his mind wander. He finds himself thinking about what Elizabeth told him. John Sheppard is a part of the LGBTQA club. Not a lot of people join that club, mostly because they're afraid of being judged, but Rodney does know a few people who have joined. Laura for one, and Carson since they're still in that 'do-everything-the-other-does' stage of their relationship. Teyla is another, having always been open about her bisexuality. Elizabeth accepts everyone, no matter what their sexuality is, and it's no surprise that she welcomed John. It does raise the question of which category Sheppard falls into.

Rodney's never given much thought to his own sexuality. He's pretty much been in love with Samantha Carter for the past five years, so he's never really given anyone a second glance. He has had a couple of potential girlfriends, Jennifer being the most recent, but he's never had a long term relationship. Laura once told him he'd have a lot better luck with dating if he'd let his crush on Sam go, but he's ignored her thus far. There's nothing wrong with liking an older woman, and no bubbly, evil lemon is going to tell him otherwise.

He feels someone grab the remote out of his hand, Firefly switching over to the Food Network, and he says, "Hey, I was watching that."

"No you weren't," she replies turning the TV up a notch. "You were staring at that wall with a goofy look on your face."

"Was not," he argues grabbing for the remote. "Turn it back."

"Were so," Jeannie retorts moving the remote out of his reach. "It looked like this." She contorts her face into some half-dreamy, half-constipated look, and mockingly says, "'I'm Meredith. Look at my doofy face. Yuk, yuk, yuk.'" Rodney may accidentally push her off the couch, and no one can prove otherwise.

* * *

Dinner is about as quiet as breakfast. Rodney's mother spends most of it on the phone with some of her business contacts while Jeannie discreetly texts her friend Ford from under the table. Rodney shovels all his food into his mouth, barely taking the time to chew it, and finally stands up, carrying his empty plate to the sink. He escapes the kitchen quickly, closing the door to his bedroom behind him, and leans against it. Only two more years of awkward dinners until he goes off the college... only to possibly have awkward dinners with a roommate who smells like ball sweat and lives off Doritos and Gatorade. Rodney can hardly wait.

He pushes away from the door, maneuvering around his telescope, and sits down at his desk. He shoves some papers out of the way, letting them flutter to the floor, and drags his laptop towards him. He has an English paper due in three days, Spanish homework to finish, and a Psychics project to start, but he decides to start his Calculus homework first. It's like having a job, school, except you don't get paid, you don't get a promotion, but if you fail you _do_  screw up your entire future.

It's around eight o'clock when Rodney gets around to his English paper. He spends the entire time complaining about the book they were forced to read, stating that he'd much rather spend his time, time he's never going to get back, reading about Stephen Hawking or Niels Henrik David Bohr or any of the other countless Physicists who are by far more interesting than some book about a guy obsessed with a woman (and _no_ his crush on Samantha is  _not_ the same). 

He finishes his paper (ranting), saves the document, and closes his laptop. He rubs his eyes, both itchy and watery from staring at the computer for so long, and gets to his feet. He walks towards his telescope and carefully moves it towards the window. He fiddles with it for a bit before getting the correct position and presses his eye to the eyepiece. He recognizes the few constellations he can see, but he knows he'd get a better view if he actually took his telescope outside, especially on the outskirts of town. Hard to do when you do not own a car. Carson would probably take him, but he'd bring Cadman and it's just not worth it.

Rodney would love to go to space one day. Hell, he'd love to  _live_ in space. To be among the stars, making important, earth changing discoveries, battling space creatures (okay, maybe not that one; he'd rather ET stayed as far away from him as possible). He's not much of an adventurer, opting to spend most of his time indoors, but going to space would be an amazing experience. Of course, the closest to space he'd ever get is being an astrophysicist, which is exactly what he aims to be, but it's the thought that counts. He bets John Sheppard would fight space aliens, hell knowing him he'd probably try to befriend them first before ultimately fighting them.

He moves away from his telescope, shedding his cargo pants, and flops down on his bed. He stares at his ceiling for a long while, but eventually goes to sleep to thoughts of space and John Sheppard.

* * *

Rodney, much to his dismay, is co-president of the Science Club. He and Zelenka tied when the other members voted for a president, and instead of having a revote (like Rodney wanted) Doctor Fraiser decided to have both boys be president. She probably regrets her decision, which she should because who, in their right mind, would allow Radek Zelenka to be president of The Science Club when Rodney is, by far,  _way_ smarter than him, but she has yet to change her mind. It's infuriating.

"That equation is wrong," Rodney points out, and, ignoring the deep sigh Radek gives him, crosses the room to fix it. "You need to carry the one unless you want us all to die in a fiery explosion."

"It's a simulation, Rodney," Zelenka says with a tired look, but he still relinquished the blue marker he had been holding. "Besides, at most, we'd be electrocuted. We wouldn't even see a fire."

"We'd still die," Rodney reminds the other boy, rubbing out his mistakes with his hand. "And I, for one, would like to win a nobel prize before I ultimately die. Granted, the way science is going, I could easily invent a way to live forever. Maybe implant my brain into a cybernetic entity. That'd definitely win a nobel prize." Zelenka mutters something in Czech, and Rodney says, "It's not a pipe dream. Shut up." Radek says something else, and Rodney glares at him, capping the marker.

"What? Do you honestly think a group of scientists would pick you for that experiment?"

Rodney opens his mouth to argue, but he's saved the trouble when Fraiser arrives. She teaches biology, a class that Rodney hated and would have skipped had it not been required. He can tell she doesn't want to be in charge of Science Club, her skills more towards voodoo, medical stuff, but since Carter already teaches two math classes on top of Advanced Physics, the school had needed someone to fill in. Rumor has it, Fraiser was only supposed to take the position until O'Neill hired someone else, but that had been six years ago and he still hadn't gotten around to it.

"Don't stop on my account," Janet says taking a seat behind her desk. "And you two," she turns sharp eyes to Rodney and Radek, "no fighting today. I'm this close to making Kavanagh president."

Peter Kavanagh, the bane of Rodney's existence, gives Radek and Rodney a smug smile before saying, "I'd be honored to take the position." He gestured to Rodney and Zelenka adding, "These two clearly are not living up to the job."

" _Pompous jackass,"_ Zelenka mutters in Czech and Rodney snorts. _  
_

"Boys," Fraiser warns and they fall silent.

After Science Club, Rodney and Zelenka leave together, neither saying a word, but they stop when Kavanagh calls them back. They turn, both giving him dark stares, and he says, "You know, when Fraiser ultimately makes me president, my first order of business is to have you two voted out of Science Club."

"Peter, the day Doctor Fraiser makes you president will be the day I willingly resign," Rodney states and Zelenka nods in agreement. Kavanagh turns a rather startling shade of red, but neither Zelenka nor McKay stick around to hear his retort.

"He's going to be a problem," Zelenka comments when they're out of Kavanagh's earshot.

"He's always a problem," Rodney says with a shrug. "Besides, with him in charge the Science Club would be dragged into the ground within a week. And that's me being generous. Fraiser's threats are exactly what they are: empty."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

The two boys go their separate ways outside, Zelenka starting the long walk home while Rodney heads towards the parking lot. He stops next to his Vespa, digging through his bag for his keys before he remembers he left them in his locker. With a frustrated sigh, he turns on his heel and walks back into the school. As he walks past the main office, he stops, doing a double take. He could have sworn he saw Principal O'Neill flirting with Samantha Carter.

"Figures," he mutters darkly, continuing on his way.

He opens his locker, finding his keys hanging on one of the hooks, and grabs them. When he closes the door, he nearly jumps a foot in the air, John Sheppard is standing next to him. "Can I help you?" Rodney demands narrowing his eyes at the other boy.

"Can I get a ride home?" Sheppard asks unaffected by Rodney's glare.

"What?"

"Can I get a ride home?" John repeats slowly, almost as if Rodney is dense.

"I heard you the first time," McKay snaps. "Why?"

John ruffles the back of his hair, shrugs, and says, "My ride flaked on me. Please. I'll give you gas money."

Rodney has every inclination to say no, but for some reason he sighs and says, "Fine." He takes the extra helmet out of his bag, shoving it at John. "Don't fall off."

* * *

Sheppard doesn't comment on Rodney's scooter other than shrugging and stating, "Probably gets better gas mileage than a car." McKay doesn't verbally reply, opting to grunt instead, and starts his Vespa.

Other than the occasional direction from John, both boys ride in silence, but for some strange reason Rodney feels Sheppard's eyes on him the entire drive. He tries to ignore it, but it's a little unsettling. A few times he opens his mouth to tell John to quit it, but he shuts it just as quickly, deciding not to give the other boy the satisfaction of knowing he has gotten to him. If this is a game John Sheppard is playing with Rodney, then he is not going to win.

John's house is downtown, right across the street from the used bookstore. He thanks Rodney when he gets off the Vespa, handing over the helmet, and McKay internally scowls at the fact that Sheppard doesn't even have helmet hair. And, really, how is that even possible?

"See you tomorrow, Rodney," John says with a wave and turns to head inside.

Before Rodney can stop himself, he calls, "Why'd you join the chess club?"

Sheppard stops, turning back to face Rodney. He gives McKay a long, searching look before repeating, "See you tomorrow, Rodney." He then disappears into his house without a backwards glance. 

Rodney's not exactly sure how long he sits outside Sheppard's house, but eventually a pickup truck honks at him, startling him, and he pulls away from the curb. When he gets home, he decides he doesn't care, and instead lets his mind wander to O'Neill and Carter. It's not like they're a real couple, it could have been harmless flirting. People flirt all the time, and it doesn't have to mean anything. Or maybe she likes the fact that O'Neill has a car and a job and isn't sixteen. Maybe if Rodney had a car Samantha would give him the time of day.

He really needs to get a car.

* * *

  _He and John are sitting across from each other in the elementary school cafeteria. Sheppard holds out half his sandwich and says, "This time I asked my mom to put grape jelly on it. We can share."_

_"Thanks," Rodney says accepting the offered sandwich, but when he takes a bite the sandwich makes a loud, wailing sound._

_"Looks like my sandwich doesn't like you, McKay."_

Rodney jerks awake, very much aware of the wailing sounding again, and he sits up to see Jeannie standing over the couch, holding a tape recorder in her hand. She hits stop quickly, giving her brother an innocent look, and says, "Mom says dinner is ready."

"And you decided to wake me up by killing my eardrums?"

"Just wanted to remind you of your violin lessons," Jeannie replies with a grin and runs away before her brother can throw a pillow at her. When she's gone, he lies back on the couch and stares at the ceiling, thinking about his dream. This is the second time he's dreamed of John Sheppard, and if he believed that dreams were more than images created by your psyche, he'd think it meant something, but he doesn't because he's a man of science, not hokey psychic crap, so instead he's just irritated. He couldn't exactly tell someone to leave him alone when they weren't corporeally bothering him. Not unless he wants to sound completely crazy.

That is if he isn't already completely crazy.


	3. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wee bit of Hurt!Rodney ahead.
> 
> Thanks to those who took the time to comment, I appreciate it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, they're not mine, and I'll see you in the next chapter.
> 
> Bye!!

"Check."

"What?" Rodney looks at the board, his eyebrows furrowed, figuring there must be some mistake, but sure enough Sheppard's rook is close to Rodney's king. "How is that...?" he trails off, muttering darkly, but moves his king away from the other boy's piece.

John studies the board for a while after that, paying no attention to the crowd that has formed around them, resting his chin on his fists, his elbows pressing into his crossed legs. He reaches for the board, but stops, his fingers hovering over his bishop. He pulls his hand back, moving it towards one of his pawns, but stops again. Rodney opens his mouth to tell Sheppard to hurry up, but closes it when the other boy moves his knight backwards.

Rodney can sense John has a plan, but the guy's hard to read. He doesn't play by the standard chess rules, doing moves that, while aren't illegal, most players don't exactly use. It's taking Rodney a bit to adapt, and it's frustrating him to no end. It doesn't help that everyone in the chess club has decided to hover around them, watching the game closely. McKay had even heard Ronon taking bets over who would win (and Rodney does not like that the caveman put twenty bucks down on Sheppard).

Twenty-five minutes later, Sheppard steals Rodney's last pawn, leaving two kings on the board. He looks up, meeting Rodney's eyes, and shrugs. "Stalemate."

"I guess," Rodney mutters setting the board up again. "One more," he says scratching his nose, ignoring the grumbling as Jennifer and Ronon hand over thirty-five dollars to Teyla. She takes the money without comment, but Rodney catches the smug look on her face. He narrows his eyes at her, but she merely shrugs and pockets her money.

The chess club meeting is over by the time they finish playing the second game, their fellow members having filed out, and they end up with another stalemate. Rodney huffs, leaning back on his palms, glaring at the board. He sniffs, wanting to start a third game, but Sheppard has already slid off his desk. He grabs his jacket, pulling it on, and says, "Good game, Rodney."

"Uh-huh." Rodney nods, still staring at the board.

"I guess I'll see you Friday."

"Uh-huh."

John lingers for a few more moments, his eyes on Rodney, but when McKay doesn't look at him he sighs and walks out of the room. For a while afterward, Rodney stares at the board. He's never gotten a stalemate before, not once. Sure, in his earlier years, when his grandfather had been trying to teach him how to play, he'd lost a couple times, but he's never gotten a stalemate. How is this even possible?

"You're too evenly matched," a voice says, startling him, and he looks up to see Teyla leaning against the doorway. He hadn't even been aware that she'd still been there; had thought she had left with the others.

"What?"

"You heard me," she states slowly, patiently.

"How can you even know that?" he asks grumpily, throwing the piecing into the box.

"Because I have known John Sheppard for many years," she replies crossing the room. She picks up a black rook, studying it. "He's not the person you think he is, Rodney."

"And what kind of person is that?" Rodney refuses to look at her, but that doesn't deter her.

"Believe me, Rodney," she says handing him the rook. "You two are more alike than you care to admit." When he looks up, he gives her a skeptical look, but she just smiles, tilts her head, and walks out of the room.

Once the board has been put away, Rodney gets off the desk, collects his things, and walks out of the room. He can't get what Teyla said out of his head, and it's bugging him to no end. How exactly were he and John Sheppard similar? That makes no sense. He's a man of science, heading towards Ivy League schools and long hours indoors. Sheppard, on the other hand, is probably going to get a football scholarship to some local college and never leave this town. They are far from similar. Teyla has no idea what she's talking about, and Rodney would appreciate it if she didn't try to psychoanalyze him.

He's in such a huff that he doesn't see Carter and O'Neill until he's almost right on top of them. A hands claps him on the shoulder, halting his steps, and O'Neill says, "You probably shouldn't walk and brood."

"What?" Rodney looks up, a scowl on his face.

"You nearly ran into us," Carter points out, giving him a worried look. "You alright, McKay?"

"No," Rodney snaps shaking his head. "The world is screwed up, John Sheppard and I stalemated in chess, and I think Teyla is trying to brainwash me." He jerks out of O'Neill's loose grasp, sucking in a deep breath. "And to top it all off, you two..." he gestures wildly and storms past them, not even sparing either one a backward glance, throwing the school's entrance open with more force than necessary. This day is worse than the time Rodney watched The Wrath of Khan. He almost walked away from the fandom when Spock died because, come on, who the hell kills Spock?

 _Spock kicks ass,_ Rodney thinks swinging his leg over his Vespa. He puts his helmet on, starting the scooter, and pulls out of his spot. He drives towards the parking lot's exit, his mind still on John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan, so he doesn't see the car backing up. The next thing he knows he's on the ground with roadburn down his arm, a throbbing head, and a totaled Vespa.

"WHAT THE HELL!" he yells just as another voice exclaims, "Holy shit!"

Rodney sits up, rubbing the back of his head, his vision going in and out of focus. He senses more than sees someone drop down next to him, and suddenly John's voice says, "I didn't even see you."

"Figures you're the one to hit me," Rodney grumbles pushing himself up onto his knees, ignoring the way the world sways around him. "Probably gonna have permanent brain damage or something. Thanks for fucking up my chances of winning a Nobel Prize."

"You should probably go to the emergency room," John suggests biting his lip, looking a little uncertain.

"I probably should," Rodney snaps making an attempt to get to his feet. He gets about halfway before a blinding wave of dizziness sends him back to his knees.

"Let's get you to the emergency room." John pushes himself to his feet. He stoops down, gripping Rodney's elbows, and ignores the other boy's protests as he helps him to his feet. As they walk towards John's car, Sheppard keeps apologizing, over and over, and even promises to help fix Rodney's Vespa. Speaking of his scooter...

"We can't leave it there," he protests when John lowers him into the passenger seat.

Sheppard looks back at the yellow scooter, a pensive look on his face, but finally he nods and says, "I'll have Teyla take it back to my place. Her dad let her have the truck today, and Ronon had swim practice after our chess club meeting, so he should be still here to help her." He pulls his phone from his pocket, sending two quick texts to his friends, and stashes it back in his pocket. "Hopefully she's not far from school."

Teyla texts back quickly, telling John she's in the library and could easily move Rodney's Vespa. She also asks what happened, but Sheppard doesn't take the time to explain. He gets back in his car, double checks to make sure he's not going to accidentally hit anyone else, and then quickly pulls out of the parking lot. All the while, Rodney has his head pressed against the window, his eyes squeezed shut, as he worries about brain hemorrhages. He's going to die he knows it.

* * *

The good news is he is not going to die. Doctor Lam gives him a relatively clean bill of health, but she does advise him to come back if he starts slurring his words, has any lapses in memory, or blacks out. The bad news, she won't let him leave on his own.

"But I'm fine," he argues indignantly, pressing an ice pack against his wounded arm. "Why can't I just take the bus home."

"I want someone to be with you for the next few hours, make sure you're going to be alright. I will not allow you to leave on your own." That's the moment John decides to peek his head into the exam cubicle, a worried look on his face.

"Is he gonna be okay, doc?" Sheppard asks looking between Rodney and Lam.

"With some rest," she replies turning to face John. "Are you his friend?"

"I'm the one who hit him," he admitted, redirecting his eyes to his shoes. "I didn't see him."

She looks like she wants to say more, but a shout coming from beyond the curtain gets her attention. Lam's eyes snap back to John and she says, "I'm sure you're sorry, but he can't leave without a ride."

"I'll give him a ride," John states quickly ignoring the way Rodney shakes his head. "It's the least I can do."

"Alright, fine." Her pager goes off just as another shout sounds and she rushes out, calling over her shoulder, "Keep an eye on him."

So, that's how Rodney found himself sitting on Sheppard's couch. John's living room has wood paneling and shag carpeting, circa the 1970's, and it's clear the Sheppard family hadn't made many changes to Old Man Mitchell's house. On the walls there are a few photographs. Two of John and a younger boy who must be his brother, one of each boy separately, and a family photo. There's a woman in the group picture, and Rodney figures that must be John's mother. He'd never met the Sheppard matriarch, and John never mentioned her during those four years they ate lunch. It made Rodney wonder what happened to her.

"So, we only have Tylenol," Sheppard says walking into the room, carrying a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. "But they should help with that headache."

"Thank you," Rodney says stiffly, accepting the pills and the water. He opens the bottle, shaking out two, and knocks them back with a sip of water. He sets both bottle and glass on the wooden coffee table, letting his eyes scan the room again. There's a large television above the fireplace, bookshelves on either side of it. Each bookshelf holds a few books, but the left one also has a couple dozen movies. On the back wall is a painting of a boy fishing, and the couch Rodney sits on is checkered. The arm chairs don't match the couch, in fact nothing really matches, but the room feels more lived in than Rodney's living room, so he doesn't say anything.

Instead, he lets his eyes settle on John. The other boy is sitting in one of the armchairs, watching Rodney anxiously, chewing on the inside of his cheek. It's like he's convinced McKay is going to start convulsing right in front of him. Which is still totally possible, but Rodney is trying to keep that thought off his mind. The two boys stare at each other for a long moment, the silence drawn out and a little awkward, before Rodney says, "I'm sure my sister can keep an eye on me. If me being here is too much trouble."

"It's fine," Sheppard answers quickly. "Stay as long as you like." He suddenly jumps to his feet, nodding towards his kitchen, and asks, "Can I get you anything? A soda? Some chips? I think we have some leftover cake from Davey's birthday."

"What kind of soda do you have?"

"Uh," Sheppard has to think a minute, but finally he says, "Coke I think. Maybe some Pepsi, but I'd have to check."

Rodney makes a face. He's not a coke kind of guy, and Pepsi just tastes like syrup to him. "Do you have any Dr. Pepper?"

"Dave drank the last one," Sheppard answers with an apologetic shrug. "I can bring you some Hawaiian Punch, but we only have blueberry."

"You said something about cake," McKay finally says after a long pause. Clearly the guy wants to do something for Rodney, make up for nearly killing him with his car, so why not get him a piece of cake. "It's not lemon is it?"

"No, it's just chocolate," Sheppard replies ruffling his hair.

"Good." As John leaves the room, Rodney calls, "Maybe a glass of milk, too."

"Anything else, Your Highness," John snarks back, smirking over his shoulder, disappearing into the kitchen before Rodney can come up with a retort.

He returns a few moments later with McKay's cake and milk, setting both in front of the other boy. He sits back in his recliner, watching Rodney as he tears into his food. "Aren't you afraid of choking?"

"Carson always asks me the same question," Rodney replies around a mouthful of cake, spraying the table and ignoring the exasperated look John gives him. He shrugs and says, "Not really."

Sheppard raises his eyebrows skeptically, but doesn't comment, leaning further into his chair. He grabs the remote off the arm, turning the TV on, and starts aimlessly flipping through the channels. They sit in silence for a long while, Rodney finishing both his cake and milk. He puts the plate and glass on the table, right next to his water, and directs his attention to John.

He's not really paying attention to what's on the screen, the remote held loosely in his hand. While he tries to act nonchalant, he looks a little tense, a little high strung, like he's not quite sure what he wants to do. He shifts in his chair, clenching his free hand into a fist. Sheppard unclenches it a second later, taps his fingers on the arm of the chair, and then says, "You're pretty good at chess."

"You're not so bad yourself," Rodney admits albeit reluctantly.

"Mr. Mitchell taught me," John states keeping his eyes on the TV. "Said if I'm gonna waste my time joining the air force, I'd need something to keep my mind sharp."

"Air force?"

"Yeah." John finally looks at Rodney, nodding his head. "You'd have known that if you still talked to me," he adds under his breath. Rodney opens his mouth to argue, but Sheppard bounds to his feet, collecting McKay's dishes, and says, "Should probably take care of these."

"Wait..."

"Maybe you should call Jeannie," Sheppard suggests disappearing into the kitchen again. "I'm sure she can keep an eye on you."

For a while, Rodney just sits there, silently wondering what happened, but eventually he does call Jeannie. She answers on the second ring, " _What?"_

"I'm at the Sheppards' place. Take the bus and come get me."

" _Why?"_ she asks curiously.

"I wrecked my Vespa," he answers after a pause.

" _What? Mer, are you okay? Oh my God, Mom was totally right. You are gonna die riding that thing."_ She sounds legitimately worried for him, and Rodney has to admit, in spite of their animosity towards each other, he's lucky to have his sister.

"Well, I'm not dead. Now come get me, please."

" _Fine,"_ she says with a sigh. " _But you're paying for bus fare."_ _  
_

_"_ Fine."

Deciding to wait for Jeannie at the bus stop, figuring he has overstayed his welcome anyway, Rodney lets himself out. As he's leaving he nearly runs into a small boy, probably around eleven or twelve. He looks a lot like Sheppard, right down to his wild hair, and McKay feel obligated to say something to him.

"Uh, hi," he says with an awkward wave.

"Who are you?" the boy asks slowly, eyeing Rodney warily. "Are you a friend of John's?"

"Sorta," Rodney answers glancing over his shoulder.

"John doesn't have many friends," Dave comments looking up at McKay. "He's not like me. I've got lots of friends." He seems so smug about this fact, and Rodney very much wants to thump him in the head.

Instead he says, "Good for you." If the kid hears the sarcasm in Rodney's voice he doesn't comment on it.

"Has John told you about that crush he has on that weird kid in his class? I heard him telling Teyla on the phone, and when he caught me he made me promise not to tell anyone." He snorts and shakes his head. "My brother is weird." He pushes past Rodney without another word, closing the door to his house behind him, leaving the older boy standing on his porch, wondering who Dave Sheppard could have been referring to. Who could John Sheppard possibly have a crush on?

"Who cares," he mutters to himself, stepping off the porch. It still doesn't stop the question from bothering him for the rest of the night, and when he goes to bed, after hours of Jeannie hovering over him like some mother hen, he dreams of John Sheppard holding hands with a faceless blob. Something twists in his chest at the sight, and when he wakes the feeling lingers for quite some time.

Suffice it to say, he doesn't sleep well that night.


	4. Sway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Game Of Thrones spoilers ahead
> 
> I think this is shorter than my last few chapters... sorry about that.
> 
> So, thanks to those who read, commented, and/or kudo'd last chapter. You guys are awesome and I'm glad someone is enjoying this story.
> 
> So, thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you get the chance, and I still don't own anyone.
> 
> Bye!!!

Despite his bribe to keep Jeannie quiet, Rodney's mother finds out about the accident from Teyla's dad (he wasn't even aware they were on speaking terms), and she keeps him home from school the next day. It's the most motherly she's been in years, and Rodney's a little irritated by it. Zelenka's is going to screw something up during Science Club, he knows it, and Kavanagh will use that to his advantage. By tomorrow Rodney will no longer be co-president (let alone a member), and really how could his mother do this to him?

"You were hit by a car, Mer," Jeannie argues when Rodney tells her all of this. "I mean, you were the one complaining about permanent brain damage the  _entire_ ride home yesterday."

"You don't understand," he mutters and slams his bedroom door in her face.

"I'll bring you your homework," she calls through the door and he listens to her walk away. Once she's gone, he flops down on his bed and glares at the ceiling. If he's being honest (which he won't be because honesty is not always the best policy), the real reason he doesn't want to stay home all day is because he doesn't want to be alone with just his thoughts.

Since his impromptu visit to John Sheppard's place, since Dave Sheppard revealed that his brother had a crush on  _someone_ , Rodney hasn't been able to get John out of his head. Mostly, he can't seem to let go of the one question that's been bugging him since Dave's confession: Who exactly does Sheppard have a crush on? Rodney wishes he could say he doesn't care. He wants to not care because he's never really cared about who's crushing on who before, but the whole situation is spiraling out of his control and he hates it. He hates it so much, but he also hasn't been called an 'obsessive bastard' on several occasions for nothing.

He gets up, kicking a couple books out of his way, and walks out of his room. He heads towards the couch, falling into a heap onto it, and turns the TV on. He flips aimlessly through the channels, finds nothing remotely interesting on, turns the TV off, turns it back on, channel surfs again, and finally decides to watch _Game of Thrones_ for the thirtieth time.

He spends the entire day getting sucked into the drama of The Seven Kingdoms that he all but forgets about John Sheppard and his stupid crush. But, like most things in his life, his contentment comes crashing down around him around three-thirty. Joffrey has just ordered Ned Stark to die, and seriously what the fuck you pretentious brat, when Jeannie comes into the living room.

"Hey Mer," she says flopping down next to him on the couch. "John Sheppard's here."

"What?" he sits up, cookie crumbs falling off his t-shirt and onto the floor. "What is he doing here?"

"He wants to know if you're still alive," Jeannie answers shrugging. "Plus, he offered to give me a ride home."

"Well, where is he?"

"The kitchen." She gestures towards the doorway, her eyes locked on the television screen. "You're watching this show again? How many times do you have to cry over Ned's death before you accept that Joffrey is a piece of trash."

"I've never cried over Ned's death," Rodney grumbles shoving himself to his feet. He did cry during The Red Wedding, but no one can blame him. A majority of the Stark family slaughtered by a petty, ancient old man and his piece of shit son-in-law (or grandson-in-law; he can't quite remember which). Rodney had had an argument about this with Kavanagh who believed wholeheartedly that the Starks had it coming since they went back on their arrangement.

" _Come on, Peter. You cannot tell me that Walder Frey was not going to betray the Starks even if Robb married his daughter,"_   _Peter Grodin (a fellow Science Club member and also A/V Club president) had argued taking Rodney's side, and Kavanagh had huffed but dropped the argument, muttering something that McKay hadn't quite caught._

"Though I do feel bad for Margaery Tyrell," Jeannis says, bringing Rodney back to reality.

"What?"

"She's lost two husbands, one murdered by his brother, and the other by her grandmother." Jeannie shrugs. "It's just not fair to her."

"Okay, first off, both Stannis and Olenna had help, and second..." Rodney waves his hands, cutting himself off. "Forget it." He motions towards the kitchen and hisses, "Tell John Sheppard to go away."

"He wants to see you," his sister argues, crossing her arms defiantly against her chest. "So go see what he wants." So much for family loyalty.

Rodney balks at the idea, looking down at his attire. He's wearing SpongeBob pajama pants, a TMNT t-shirt, and his Chewbacca slippers. He literally looks like he hasn't bothered to get dressed all day (which he hasn't), and John Sheppard is waiting for him in his kitchen. He huffs, knows there isn't any time to change, and turns on his heel, stalking away from his sister.

Sheppard is standing by the fridge, reading the magnets stuck to the surface, but he whirls around when he hears Rodney enter the room. "Hi," he says with an awkward wave, his eyes sweeping up and down Rodney's body. "Nice slippers."

"What are you doing here?" Rodney demands crossing his arms, covering up his t-shirt as best as he can, fixing a scowl on his face.

"I brought this," Sheppard answers and picks his bag up, off the floor. He opens it, removing some of Rodney's textbooks, and puts them on the table. "I thought, you know, since I hit you..." he trails off, ruffling his hair, and shrugs.

"Well, thank you," Rodney says stiffly, sniffing. "Anything else?"

"Um, I also wanted to see if you were alright." His eyes scan Rodney again and he nods. "You look fine."

"I am fine."

"Alright." Sheppard keeps nodding, but he must realize he looks stupid because he suddenly stops, flushing a little. "I, uh..." he jerks his thumb towards the door. "I should go now." He turns, nearly running into the fridge, and stammers an apology before rushing out of the room. Rodney waits until he hears Sheppard's car start before storming back into the living room.

Jeannie is sitting on the couch, trying to look innocent but failing miserably. She had been listening at the door, Rodney isn't stupid, but instead of calling her out on it, he scowls at her instead and heads down the hallway, towards his bedroom. He falls heavily into his desk chair, waking his computer up, and logs onto the internet. He figures several hours picking fights in gaming forums may make him feel better. However, no sooner had he started typing a post, he senses more than hears Jeannie hovering over him.

"What?" he doesn't bother to look at her, typing furiously.

"What'd John Sheppard want?" she asks curiously, almost sounding sincere.

"You were listening at the door," Rodney replies pausing in his typing. "You tell me." He continues typing, misspelling the word gratuitous. He scowls at the keyboard for a moment before allowing autocorrect to help him out.

"Why are you so mad?" Jeannie sits down on Rodney's bed. He can feel her eyes drilling into the side of his head, but he refuses to look at her. "He just dropped your homework off. You know, being friendly. Something you clearly need to work on."

"Go away, Jeannie," he grumbles waving towards his bedroom door.

"Ugh, fine," she says getting to her feet. As she walks away, she adds over her shoulder, "I've never seen someone so oblivious."

"What does that even mean?" Rodney demands but she's already closed the door, using more force than necessary, knocking his signed picture of George Lucas off his wall.

* * *

Rodney skips chess club the next day, the first time since joining it in grade seven, and takes the city bus downtown. He ends up at an old, dingy looking coffee shop across the street from the post office. He orders a black coffee, tells the barista his name, but still ends up with 'Randall' written on his cup. He sits down at a table in the corner, piles all his school books onto the surface, and proceeds to do his homework.

Carson calls him three times, Cadman texts him twice, and even Jeannie sends a half a dozen texts and leaves three voicemails, but he ignores everyone. He steadily works through all of his assignments, keeping his mind solely on each task in front of him, occasionally getting up to have his coffee cup refilled, and when he finishes he pulls out a book on Alan Turing and buries his nose in it.

He's thirty pages into the book and on his fifth cup of coffee when his phone rings again. Like before, he checks the screen, expecting a call from Carson or Jeannie, but he's surprised to see a number that his phone doesn't recognize. He almost ignores the call, but a nagging feeling has him hitting answer instead, and he puts the phone to his ear.

"You have the wrong number," he starts slowly, taking a sip of his coffee.

 _"Rodney?"_ Alright, so _not_ the wrong number.

"Sheppard? How the hell did you get my phone number?"

 _"Jeannie gave it to me_ ," Sheppard replies sounding uncertain as to why she would do that; Rodney is just as clueless. " _She says you haven't been answering your phone. She seems worried."_

"I'm clearly fine," Rodney says airly.

 _"You weren't at chess club,"_ John comments softly, the statement is said so nonchalantly that Rodney doesn't question why Sheppard would even bring it up.

"Uh, no, no I wasn't."

" _Look Rodney, I..."_   Someone calls John's name in the background, and he trails off. Rodney can hear muffled voices, a hushed argument, and finally Sheppard says, " _I have to go. Just, just call your sister."_ He hangs up, and, against his better judgment, McKay can't help pondering what John had been about to say. He lays his head on the table and decides that he's no longer going to answer the phone anymore.

It still doesn't stop him from programming Sheppard's number into his cellphone.

* * *

Rodney has three general rules for his Saturdays. One) pants are optional. Two) the couch is his domain and all who try to steal his domain will be shoved out of the room via force (mostly Jeannie). And three) someone better be dying for him to either a) put pants on or b) leave the couch. He's had these rules in place since grade five, and since his mother doesn't enforce her "one-hour-of-TV" rule on the weekends, he's pretty much lived by his three rules. Until he doesn't.

He's made himself quite comfortable on the couch, Mountain Dew and Doritos laid out on the coffee table, and Netflix has been queued up with enough science documentaries to last him all day, but no sooner has he pressed play there's a knock at the front door. He sighs loudly, pausing the documentary, and rolls off the couch. Rarely does anyone actually use the front door, in fact Rodney doesn't even remember the last time anyone used the front door, so he figures it's someone looking for the neighbor's house. But when he opens the door he finds John Sheppard.

"What are you doing here?" Rodney demands hit with a wave of deja vu. Except this time he's wearing plaid boxers and a Taco John's t-shirt. If Sheppard keeps up these impromptu visits he's bound to see McKay naked at some point. A thought which doesn't seem as unpleasant as Rodney had thought it would; he decides not to investigate further.

Sheppard doesn't say anything for nearly a minute, his face flushed and his eyes downcast, but finally he forces himself to look at McKay's face and says, "I, uh, I fixed your scooter."

"Already?" Rodney looks over John's shoulder, his eyes settling on his Vespa, parked against the curb. It's a little worse for wear, but it's in a lot better condition than it had been on Wednesday.

"It wasn't as bad as it looked," John replies shrugging. He digs in his pocket, pulling out the key Rodney had given him on the way to the hospital. He holds it out, waiting for McKay to take it. When he does, Sheppard says, "I am sorry, for running into you."

He turns to leave, but Rodney hears himself say, "Wait." John stops, turning to face McKay again, a questioning look on his face. "Let me give you a ride."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just give me a minute." Rodney beckons John inside, closing the door behind him, and moves across the room to shut the TV off. He leaves Sheppard standing in the living room, heading towards his room to put his jeans and shoes on and grab the rest of his keys and his wallet. He rejoins Sheppard when he's done, struggling to put his Vespa key back on the keyring, walking past John.

"Need any help?" Sheppard asks curiously, sounding a little amused.

"Just get the door," Rodney replies without looking up from his task. John complies, allowing the shorter boy to leave the house first, following him out. Sheppard shuts the door, but neither boy leave the porch, McKay too busy trying to get his stupid key back on it's proper keychain.

"Here," John says gently taking his keys. Before Rodney can argue, the other boy has already slipped the Vespa key back onto the keyring. He hands the keys back to Rodney, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"C'mon," Rodney says gruffly, locking the door and stomping down the porch steps. Sheppard trails behind him, not saying a word, but McKay can still sense the smug look on his face. If McKay takes the turns a little too sharply no one has to know he does it on purpose, and if Sheppard holds onto him a little tighter each time...

Well, worse things have happened to him.


	5. My Own Worst Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that I'm giving this story sort of a soundtrack... huh.
> 
> Anyway, thanks to those who commented last chapter, you make me want to keep writing this story and I truly appreciate each one.
> 
> So, thanks for reading, I don't own anyone, and I'll see you in the next chapter.

On Monday, Rodney spends his lunch period in the library, putting the finishing touches on his Physics project, sneaking Cheez-Its whenever the librarian isn't looking at him, and on Tuesday he leaves school early for a dentist appointment, so he doesn't actually step foot in the cafeteria until Wednesday. He grabs a plate of something that, no doubt, ends in -roni, along with two milks and an apple. Carson is standing next to him, chatting merrily with Laura about something _undoubtedly_ fascinating. Rodney rolls his eyes, but decides not to participate in the conversation, paying for his lunch instead. Cadman, however, doesn't have the same sentiment as him.

"What do you think, Rodney?" she asks curiously, following him to their table.

Against his better judgment, he responds, "About what?"

"Homecoming is this weekend," Cadman replies opening her milk. "Carson and I were thinking about going. You could always come with us."

"Oh, yes, it's my dream to be a third wheel," Rodney retorts sharply, stabbing at his lunch. "I can hardly contain my excitement."

"Jeez, it was just a suggestion."

"What was?" John drops into the chair next to Rodney's, setting a brown bag on the table. Evan Lorne and Radek Zelenka join him, but Rodney doesn't pay them any attention. He's too busy trying to figure out why John Sheppard is sitting at his table.

"Rodney's being a jerkface about homecoming," Laura replies brightly, sticking her tongue out at McKay when he glares at her. "Are you going?"

"We are." Radek gestures between himself and Evan. "John's not."

"Why not?" Cadman turns her attention to John, raising her eyebrows.

"Just don't feel like it." Sheppard shrugs, pulling out a sandwich.

"Well, Rodney isn't going either."

"Really?" John looks up, meeting Rodney's eyes. "Why?"

"Because the idea of dancing to crappy music, eating bad food, and otherwise socializing with a group of people I barely tolerate during the week is the last thing I want to do with my Saturday night," Rodney rants waving his plastic fork back and forth "It's like, why waste time and money on something that I'm going to forget in a year? There are more important things in life than whether or not what's-her-face's thighs looked fat in her dress or if what's-his-face got laid."

"Is negativity like your middle name, McKay?" Lorne jests drily and Cadman, Radek, and Carson laugh.

"No, it's not," Rodney says sharply, glaring at the other boy. "Sheppard asked a question, I answered it. If you have a problem with my answer, then that's your problem. Besides, nobody said you had to agree with me." He shoveled food into his mouth, halting any further discussion, ignoring the five sets of eyes on him.

He nearly chokes when Sheppard softly suggests, "We could hang out."

Rodney coughs, painfully swallowing the food he has in his mouth, and gasps, "What?"

"Saturday? We could hang out?" John picks at his sandwich, shrugging again. "If you want to."

Dumbfounded, Rodney says, "Yeah, we could."

Something flashes across Sheppard's face, but before Rodney can identify it Teyla, Ronon, and Jennifer arrive, effectively cutting off their conversation. When Ronon brings up some party he's throwing in a month, the Homecoming discussion is forgotten, but Rodney can't help throwing John furtive glances the rest of the lunch period. He'll swear, on the seven gods, that John does the same to him.

* * *

John and his friends sit with Rodney, Carson, and Cadman for the rest of the week. McKay doesn't know why Sheppard's bothering, but he lets it go because he decides he doesn't care, something he's been doing _a lot_ lately. At the rate he's going, Rodney has a feeling he's going to end up using all his I-just-don't-care cards, and will have to eventually deal with everything he's trying to avoid, but until then he's going to ignore everything he deems unimportant.

Homecoming isn't brought up again, but Ronon does keep talking about his party. According to him, his parents will be out of town for the weekend, and it's laughable, just how cliched-ly, teen movie-esque it sounds, and Rodney can't help bringing it up this fact during chess practice on Friday.

"Who are you hoping shows up? Judd Nelson and Emilio Estevez? Make sure you have the keg delivered  _after_ your parents leave the house otherwise they might not leave town." He knows he sounds like an ass, but, come on, this has John Hughes written all over it. "What next, you'll fall in love with a sophomore and get her a cake for her sixteenth birthday because her family forgot?"

"Have you actually seen a movie from this century?" Ronon asks curiously, raising one eyebrow, his arms crossed against his chest. 

"Yes, I have, but that's not the point."

"Whatever."

McKay hears John snort from behind him and turns to see Sheppard sitting on a desk, playing a solo game of chess. Rodney moves towards the other boy, scrambling onto the desk across from him, watching the game.

"You wanna play winner?" John deadpans, moving one of the white bishops across the board.

"Hilarious," Rodney retorts still watching the game. "I'm just gonna study you for a while." When Rodney realizes what those words could implicate, he quickly corrects himself, "I meant, the way you play."

"I get it." John doesn't look up at him, falling silent again as he continues his game. 

Neither boy say a word, McKay watching all of Sheppard's moves carefully, John carefully playing his way through three games, and by the time chess club is over Rodney feels he knows John's moves a little better. He slides off the desk, helping Sheppard put the pieces back, and comments, "You have a very unorthodox way of playing."

"Keeps me from getting bored," John replies putting the top back on the box. "Plus, you're intrigued by me. Admit it."

"Try annoyed," Rodney mutters under his breath.

Sheppard carries the boardgame towards the small pile on the windowsill, lingering for a long moment after adding it to the others, before he says, "Look, Rodney, about what I said on Wednesday..."

"About hanging out?"

"Yeah." Sheppard fiddles with a stapler, still keeping his back to Rodney. "If you don't want to, I'd understand." He seems to hunch in one himself, putting the stapler back, picking up a pencil.

McKay will deny, up and down, that he feels a little disappointed. Why would John even suggest they hang out if he's just going to change his mind. It literally feels like fifth grade all over again.

"Look, if you don't want to hang out..." Rodney starts, a slight bite to his voice.

"I never said that." Sheppard whirls around, a helpless look on his face, and mumbles, "I was just giving you an out."

"Who says I want an out?" McKay demands and can't ignore the confusion that crosses John's face.

"I just thought..."

"What? You thought what?"

John shrugs both shoulders, absentmindedly twirling the pencil between his fingers. Something akin to hope flickers in his eyes when he meets Rodney's and he softly asks, "So, you wanna hang out?"

"If you're okay with doing absolutely nothing then yeah."

Sheppard smiles, putting the pencil down, and nods. "Alright. Cool. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" It's meant to be a statement, Rodney can tell, but John's words still come out sounding uncertain, like he thinks McKay changed his mind in the last fifteen seconds.

"Sure."

John nods again, collecting his jacket and bag, and gives Rodney a small wave, leaving the other boy standing by himself. It's a long while before McKay gathers his own things, slowly retracing Sheppard's footsteps. He walks past the office, spotting O'Neill and Carter talking quietly to each other, and, for the first time since seeing them flirting, Rodney isn't seething with jealousy. He's not sure how he feels about this information, and, like with everything else in his life right now, shoves it to the back of his head.

* * *

Rodney spends the next day cleaning the house. His mother isn't a messy person, in fact she keeps her house practically immaculate, but he's nervous and needs to do something with his hands. Jeannis sits on the couch, occasionally dropping graham cracker crumbs onto his freshly vacuumed floor. He puts up with it for about two minutes before threatening to take a permanent marker to all of her art projects.

"What's up your butt?" Jeannie asks defensively, storming out of the room, no doubt going to hide all her paintings. She left a trail of crumbs in her wake, her one last defiant move, and Rodney grumbles as he vacuums them up.

He attacks his room next, shoving papers and books under his bed, into his desk drawers, and in any nook and cranny he can find. He hides all his dirty laundry in his closet, empties his tiny, Albert Einstein garbage bin for the first time since getting it for Christmas a year ago (there are a couple apple cores at the bottom that look like they've developed a life of their own), and moves his telescope six times before putting it back in its original position.

He's not sure why he's cleaning. It's not like he and John Sheppard are dating or anything. They're going to hangout, like, well not like friends, but close to it. Rodney's hung out with people before... if he counts arguing with stupid preteens over on gaming forums and online gaming. He's been in charge of several groups during Gears of War, and it's not his fault he ends up kicking off half his teammates before ultimately getting kicked off himself. This isn't anything new. Except, all of those people have never been to his house. They live all over the world, the closest being Carson but Rodney stopped playing with him when he realized it wasn't Beckett (Cadman is a really aggressive gamer). And none of those people are John Sheppard. Rodney's not exactly sure why that matters, but it does.

At six-thirty, he decides to take a shower because of reasons, but Jeannie is hogging the bathroom. He hammers on the door, needing her to get out, but she's ignoring him. He knows this because she's more transparent than she likes to believe, plus he can hear her radio go up a notch every time he yells at her to hurry up. He gives up at ten to seven, vowing to lock Jeannie in her room or something later, and just changes his clothes.

He's being stupid, he knows this, but it doesn't stop him from changing his clothes six times. He doesn't even have enough clothes to do this, but somehow he manages it, and it's completely idiotic. That still doesn't stop him from contemplating exchanging his Avengers shirt for a plain, black one, but he changes his mind when he hears Jeannie call, "Mer, John Sheppard is here!"

"Crap." He throws the black shirt back into his closet, kicks the door close, and races out of his room, clipping his shoulder on the doorway. "Shit, fuck," he hisses rubbing his aching limb. What a perfect start to this night; a bruise.

When he enters the living room, Jeannie is hanging off the door, laughing at something Sheppard had just said, but she looks up when she hears her brother. Her smile turns wicked and she says, "Hey Mer, we were just talking about you."

"Mer?" John raises his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, it's short for..." Rodney is across the room in an instant, shoving his hand over his sister's mouth and dragging her from the room. Once in the hallway, he releases her, but not before she licks his hand. He wipes her spit off his palm, giving her a disgruntled look, and she grins at him. "What's wrong? Don't you want your boyfriend to know your real name?"

Ignoring the boyfriend crack, Rodney snarls, "Get out, Jeannie."

"I live here, too, Meredith," Jeannie responds crossing her arms defiantly, pulling herself to her full height (she's still a head shorter than her brother).

"Jeannie, please, just get out." Rodney hates begging, but he needs his sister to go somewhere else. Her lingering around will not only be embarrassing, but with her big mouth she could let spill secrets Rodney does not want anyone to know; especially John Sheppard.

She sighs, uncrossing her arms, letting them fall at her sides. "Alright, Mer, I'll go." She starts towards her room, returning a few seconds later with her bag and a jacket. "But you owe me."

"Owe you what?"

"Oh, I'll let you know." Jeannie smiles sweetly and walks away, leaving Rodney with a sense of foreboding.

* * *

 

Sheppard is still standing by the door, looking a little awkward, when Rodney reenters the living room. He looks up when he hears McKay, giving him a nervous smile, and it makes Rodney wonder what Sheppard has to be nervous about, but he immediately dismisses the question. It's best not to dwell on it right now. Instead, he gestures to the couch and says, "Sit down, I guess."

"Alright." John crosses the room, slowly sinking onto the couch, shrugging his jacket off. He takes a look around Rodney's living room, no doubt comparing it to his own, and for a second McKay looks around, too. Everything is a little too white, a little too clean. There used to be a fake plant on the windowsill, something his father had put there as a joke, but Rodney's mother had thrown it out the day his dad left. There are exactly three photos on the wall, one of his most recent school picture, another of Jeannie's, and the last of the entire family from ten years ago. Nobody seems to be smiling in the group photo, and for a moment Rodney contemplates ripping the picture from the wall and hurtling out a window.

He shakes his head, knocking his dark thoughts away, and asks, "Can I get you something?"

"No thanks."

"Okay." Rodney walks towards the couch, sitting down at the other end, and neither boy says anything for a long time.

Sheppard breaks the silence first and states, "Nice place."

"It's too clean," Rodney replies shrugging. He dares not mention that he had spent the day cleaning a house that could use a few stains, but he does add, "Jeannie split her head open once, right over there," he points to a spot near the coffee table. "Mom had the carpet replaced a few days later."  _What? Shut up. "_ I also threw up on our last couch, which was more comfortable than this one, and instead of getting it cleaned Mom just bought a new one."  _Alright, I need to stop talking right now._

Sheppard gives Rodney an amused look, shaking his head. For a moment, McKay actually thinks John is going to let him keep talking, but instead the other boy asks, "Do you wanna watch a movie?"

"Oh god, yes." McKay springs to his feet, rushing into his room, calling over his shoulder, "What do you have in mind? I have the original Star Wars trilogy, every Lord of the Rings movie (so far), or Ghost Busters."

"Don't care," John calls back, and that throws Rodney. Surely, John Sheppard must have a preference.  _Everyone_ has a preference. Rodney usually ignores their preferences for something he'd rather watch, but he's never actually been given free reign to pick a movie right from the start.

They're totally watching Harry Potter.

* * *

"Wait, wait so Snape  _wasn't_ the bad guy?" Sheppard gestures at the TV with his soda can, the ending credits to Sorcerer's Stone scrolling across the screen. 

"Nope," Rodney replies shaking his head, shoving a handful of caramel corn into his mouth. "I mean, he's not a good guy, but he's not the villain." McKay still can't believe John has never seen any of the Harry Potter films nor has he read any of the books. That's like the equivalent of never having seen any of the Star Wars films (which Sheppard has only seen Episode 4). It makes Rodney wonder how someone could be so out of touch with pop culture. He also makes it his life's mission to make sure John has seen each and every movie.

"Huh." John puts his can onto the table, making sure there's a coaster underneath, and leans back into the couch cushions. He rubs his eyes, glancing at his watch. "I wonder how the dance went." Rodney shrugs, eating more popcorn. He debates whether or not to start the second movie, but he's not sure if John has a curfew and the next movie won't be over until well past one-thirty, but he kind of doesn't want John to leave just yet.

"You can start the next one," Sheppard says after a long pause, making the decision for Rodney. "I can always call my dad and tell him I'll be late."

"Alright." McKay gets off the couch, exchanging Sorcerer's Stone for Chamber of Secrets, and sits back down on the couch.

Somewhere between Harry first hearing the snake's voice and Justin Finch-Fletchley getting petrified, Rodney must doze off because the next thing he knows something is buzzing against his leg, startling him awake. He sits up, a blanket falling off his shoulders, groping around for his phone, but he remembers he had left it in his room.

"It's mine," Sheppard grunts, sitting really, really close McKay. He doesn't seem bothered by this fact, pulling his phone from his pocket. He checks the screen, getting to his feet, and runs a hand through his hair, answering the call. "Hey Dad." He nods, grabbing his jacket off the couch. "Yeah, I forgot to call you. I stayed over at the McKays' house last night."

Rodney slides to the edge of the couch, pushing the blanket off of him, scratching the back of his head. Someone had turned Harry Potter off, the case sitting on the coffee table, and had covered both he and John up. It must have been Jeannie, Rodney unable to recall his sister actually coming home. He glances up at the other boy, Sheppard nodding at whatever his dad is saying, a slight frown on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be home in twenty." He hangs up, clearing his throat, and gives McKay a small smile. "Kinda slept past my curfew." He shrugs his jacket back on, zipping it up halfway. "We should do this again. You know, if I don't get grounded."

Rodney stands, nodding his head. "Let me know."

"Alright." Sheppard lingers for a moment, some hidden emotion flickering in his eyes. He then nods behind him and says, "So, I'll see you tomorrow, McKay."

"Yep." Rodney watches John walk away. He doesn't move until he hears the other boy's car pull away from the curb. He heads silently down the hallway, peeking into Jeannie's room, the top of his sister's head sticking out from underneath her covers, and Rodney grabs a stack of post-its from her nightstand. He scribbles ' _Thanks, I guess'_ onto the top one, peels if off, and sticks it to her forehead.

He closes her door, heading into his room, and kicks his shoes off before falling face first onto his bed. He's drifting, mostly asleep, when it suddenly hits him, his eyes snapping opening. He and John Sheppard had slept together, literally slept together, and neither one made a big deal about it. In fact, John acted like the occurrence was normal, like they slept together every night. Rodney's face heats up at the idea, and he shakes his head.

"Clearly, we were both really tired," he mutters to himself, slowly laying back down. Yes, that makes sense, that makes so much sense, they were tired, their brains addled from sleep. It still makes Rodney think about the past few weeks, from Jeannie calling him oblivious to his jealousy dissipating when it comes to Carter and O'Neill, to the lingering feeling in his chest when he dreamed about Sheppard and the faceless blob. It all swirls around in his head, nagging him, pushing and pushing until one thing becomes perfectly clear. He likes John Sheppard.

"Shit," Rodney murmurs burying his face in his pillow.


	6. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea where this story is going, but the journey isn't too bad so far. Also, I apologize for all the Game of Thrones references I keep making. I've been reading the books lately and it's sort of become my new obsession. If they're bothering you, I'm sorry, but they're probably not gonna go away anytime soon either.
> 
> Anyway thank you so much for reading and commenting last chapter. I love hearing from each and every one of you. So, enjoy and remember I'm not lucky enough to own these characters.

Rodney spends much of Sunday trying to figure out what to do about his newfound feelings, and by Monday he has decided to ignore them and hope they go away. It's probably a terrible plan, he's not so insensitive that he hasn't considered it, but he's also fairly certain he's suffering from a crush and nothing more. Statistically, most crushes last about four months before going away, and really why waste his time confessing to feelings that won't even exist after January. Burying them seems like the best option in the long run, and Rodney's usually very good at long term planning.

So, Monday morning he walks into school feeling, well not confident per se, but less likely to avoid John Sheppard should he approach him in the hallway. That is until he actually  _sees_  Sheppard in the hallway, heading towards him, head turned towards Evan Lorne as the other boy regales him with, what  _has_ to be, a fascinating tale. Rodney panics when he sees John, turns on his heel, and promptly runs into Peter Kavanagh.

Papers fly everywhere, books fall to the floor and slide into the paths of several dozen students, and Rodney somehow manages to elbow himself in the face. It's chaos for a few minutes, but when everything settles down Kavanagh is grumbling under his breath while he collects his downed papers and textbooks (Lorne and a few other students helping him), and John Sheppard is handing Rodney his books and quietly asking, "You alright?"

"Nothing years worth of therapy can't fix," McKay retorts under his breath, accepting his things from the other boy. "Thanks," he says after a short pause, tucking his books under his arm. Sheppard shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. The two boys stand awkwardly for a moment, neither quite looking at each other, but they're saved the trouble of actually saying anything when the bell rings.

"Get out of my way, McKay," Kavanagh snaps, his face a little red, glasses askew, and stalks off, shoving his way through a crowd of kids.

"Right, so good talk," Rodney states with an unnecessary wave and, ignoring the questioning look on Sheppard's face, hurries to his first period. When he sits down, he puts his head on his desk and wonders if it's too late to transfer to a private school.

By lunch time, Rodney has an elbow sized bruise on his cheek. When Carson sees it he mutters under his breath as he pours some of his water onto a napkin. "Were you in a fight?" Beckett asks gently pressing the napkin to Rodney's wound.

"No," McKay grunts shoving his friend's hand away, ignoring the indignant look on Carson's face. "Look, I really don't want to talk about it." He's not exactly in the best mood, and the last thing he wants is Beckett fawning over him like some wounded deer.

"Guys, guess what?" Cadman says excitedly, putting her lunch tray down, and Rodney feels his already dark mood plummet.  _Why can't she be miserable like me?_

Beckett reluctantly looks away from McKay, giving Cadman his undivided attention, but when he smiles it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "What?"

At first, she doesn't say anything, her eyes flickering between both boys, but finally she shakes her head and says, "I heard Kavanagh and Rodney got into a fight today." Her gaze settles on Rodney's cheek for a few seconds, something akin to concern flitting across her face.

"What?" Carson and Rodney say together, the former shooting the latter an incredulous look. McKay laughs humorlessly, shaking his head back and forth, and asks, "Who told you this?"

"Radek heard it from a girl in year nine."

"Oh, _there's_ a reliable source." McKay rolls his eyes when Laura sticks her tongue out at him. "Kavanagh and I were not in a fight today. If we were, we'd both have been sent home or something. So why exactly is an underclassman spreading rumors about Kavanagh and I getting into a fight?"

"Didn't you hear?" When Rodney flashed her an impatient look, Cadman rolls her eyes and explains, "Kavanagh has started a petition to get you and Radek kicked out of the science club."

 "Excuse me." Abandoning his lunch, Rodney gets to his feet and walks towards the cafeteria exit, ignoring his friends calling him back. He has one thing on his mind right now, and it's burying Peter Kavanagh in a shallow grave.

He finds the little pipsqueak in the library, sitting in the back, surrounded by books. He has a pair of earbuds in his ears, absentmindedly bobbing his head to whatever he's listening to as he reads from the book sitting in front of him. Rodney grabs the earbud cord, ripping them from the younger boy's ears, startling him. He looks up, the surprise on his face instantly morphing into disdain, and he demands, "What the hell, McKay?"

"Shut up," Rodney snaps throwing his earbuds at him, hitting Kavanagh in the face. He leans in, his face inches from Peter's, and hisses, "Look, you insufferable prick, you try to have Zelenka or I kicked out of the science club, and I will make the next year and a half a living hell for you."

"Are you threatening me, Rodney," Kavanagh says loudly, getting the attention of the few patrons in the library, a smirk flitting across his face. To avoid his audience overhearing, he lowers his voice and adds, "All I need is three more signatures, McKay. Besides, I've never said anything about kicking you out of the club. Just getting you two replaced as presidents. As I've told Doctor Fraiser several times, someone more worthy deserves the position."

"And you think that's you?"

"I  _know_ it's me. Face it, Rodney," Peter waves the paper in McKay's face, several dozen signatures flashing back at him, including one written in green pen, "everyone finds you too extreme to be in charge. Let it go." Rodney sneers at Kavanagh's smug face, contemplates shoving his chair backwards, but opts to knock a few of his books off the table instead. He then turns on his heel and stalks out of the room, letting the door slam behind him with a satisfying bang.

He ducks into the first bathroom he passes and promptly begins pacing back and forth, his footsteps echoing off the tiled, green and blue walls. Surprisingly, he's not really angry at Kavanagh; the asshole has tried the same thing once before. Granted this is the first time he's actually gotten more than three signatures, but that's something Rodney can deal with later. No, it's the green penned signature that's affecting him. He recognized that signature, had seen it on the bottom of the chess club list, and he cannot believe it. He can't believe that John Sheppard would stoop so low, would add his name to Kavanagh's petition to get Rodney kicked out of the only club he really gives a crap about, and McKay had thought they were starting to become sort of friends again; he had actually thought...

He stops pacing, turning to look at his irate expression in the mirror. He breaks eye contact with himself after a few seconds, gripping the sink tightly as he glares down into it, and whispers, "I'm so stupid."

It takes a while for him to calm down, but eventually he does leave the bathroom. He's missed lunch and seventh period, but he makes it to his Advanced Physics class early, plopping down in a seat in the back. Carter gives him a worried look, but he ignores her, pulling out a novel about Fabiola Gianotti and doesn't speak to anyone the entire fifty minutes.

When the final bell rings, he collects his things and bolts out of the door before anyone else, heading straight to his locker. He skids to a halt when he sees John Sheppard standing next to it, nose buried in _War and Peace,_ obviously waiting for Rodney. He doesn't want to talk to Sheppard, but his keys, helmet, and bag are in his locker, and he needs to get the books for his homework tonight. He decides that he's not going to let John Sheppard get to him and heads straight for his locker.

"Hey," Sheppard greets closing his book, a small smile on his face. Worry flickers in his eyes when he asks, "You okay? Laura told me what happened." His eyes settle on Rodney's bruise and he raises a hand, almost as if he wants to touch it, but the look on McKay's face makes him refrain. With a frown, he lowers his hand.

"I'm fine," Rodney says stiffly, putting the wrong combination into his locker. He tries twice more, his hands shaking a bit, before he manages to get the right numbers. He opens the door with more force than necessary, pulling his bag off the hook. "Perfectly fine," he continues shoving books into his bag, possibly adding a few he doesn't even need. "In fact," he puts his helmet and keys into his bag, slamming the door, meeting Sheppard's concerned face, "I'm sure if you were to look up the definition of fine in the dictionary you'd see my face."  _What am I even talking about?_

"Okay?"

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Rodney starts shouldering his bag. "I have to get going."

"You're not going to chess club?" Hurt flickers across Sheppard's face, and Rodney feels something inside him snap.

He throws his bag onto the floor, stalking the six steps towards John, and hisses, "No. No you don't get to do that; not you."

"What are you talking about?" John asks, clearly confused, trying to keep his voice even.

"Green pen, Sheppard!" Rodney exclaims jabbing Sheppard in the chest with his index finger. "I saw it on Kavanagh's petition! Did you honestly think the little weasel wouldn't rub it in my face?"

"Petition?" For a moment, John actually looks lost, but finally it dawns on him. "You mean the bird watching petition?"

"Yeah I mean... wait, what?" McKay takes a step back, a little lost himself. "Wait, bird watching? No, he said..."

"He's trying to start a bird watching club," Sheppard explains softly, eyes downcast. "Figured it wouldn't hurt to help him." He looks up suddenly, irritation flashing across his face, his cheeks flushing red. "Did you honestly think I'd sign his other petition? Seriously, Rodney?" He crosses his arms tightly against his chest, chewing on the inside of his cheek, deliberately keeping his eyes off McKay.

"I didn't..." Rodney trails off, shaking his head. "He showed me the petition..."

Defeat settles on Sheppard's face and he uncrosses his arms, letting them hang limply at his side, hunching in on himself. He huffs, once, humorlessly before looking up to meet Rodney's eyes. "Why do you hate me so much?" he asks so quietly that McKay almost doesn't catch it.

"I don't hate you," Rodney says quickly, needing to wipe that look off John's face.

"Could have fooled me." Before McKay could respond, Sheppard turns on his heel and walks away, leaving Rodney feeling like an ass.

"Oh, what's the matter?" A sudden, vicious voice asks and McKay pivots around to see Kavanagh standing directly behind him. "Did you and your boyfriend have a fight?"

"Fuck off, Kavanagh," Rodney snaps shoving the younger boy back a step. "Was that petition ever real?"

"The one to replace you as president?" Irritation crosses Peter's face when he says, "It was." Evidently it did about as well as it did last time.

"What was the point then?"

"I don't like you, McKay," Kavanagh replies pettily, a petulant frown on his face. "You're an obsessive bastard who doesn't deserve half of what you've got."

"Don't expect pity from me, Peter," Rodney states making sure he's looking directly into the other boy's eyes. "And don't expect me to forget this."

Peter sighs, shrugging his shoulders. His eyes flicker to John's retreating frame and he whispers, "I feel like we're even now." Rodney may or may not break his hand on Peter Kavanagh's face.

* * *

"Suspended?" his mother glances over at him from the driver side, both of her hands on the steering wheel as she turns down their street. "Suspended?" she repeats pulling into their driveway and shutting the car off. Rodney shrugs, glaring out the passenger side window, curling his wounded hand into a fist. It's not broken, but he did sprain it, and Doctor Lam told him to take it easy for the next few days. He'll have no problem with that, seeing as he has been given a forced vacation from school for the next two days.

"Why did you punch the Kavanagh boy?" his mother asks and Rodney shrugs again. She sighs, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, and mutters, "I don't know where I went wrong with you."

"Don't worry, Mom," Rodney starts, his tone dripping with sarcasm, his eyes flashing with anger when he turned to finally look at her, "we wouldn't want to tarnish that spotless reputation of yours." Before she can respond, he shoves his door open and gets out. He grabs his bag off the floor, slams the car door, and storms inside. He retreats to his room, throwing his bag onto his bed, and yanks his phone from his pocket.

He's not much of a texter, finding the process tedious. Why type something when you can easily say it, but he's pretty sure John isn't going to answer his calls. So, he figures why not send the guy a text. Rodney types out several different things, each one more pathetic than the last, before settling on two words:  _I'm sorry._ He hits send, tosses his phone onto his desk, and falls face first into his pillow, shoving his bag onto the floor. He has the next two days off; he might as well catch up on his sleep.

Rodney wakes two hours later to Jeannie softly calling his name through his door. He sits up, running his uninjured hand through his hair, and hoarsely says, "What?"

"Mom says dinner's ready," she replies and he listens to her walk away. He gets out of bed, checking his phone. Sheppard hasn't texted him back, but Laura left him three texts and Carson called twice. Rodney drops his phone back onto his desk and leaves his room.

* * *

He spends his two days off sitting around in his pajamas, binge watching seasons 2 and 3 of _Game of Thrones_. He pictures Kavanagh in Theon Greyjoy's position, watching as Ramsay Snow (Bolton now, he guesses) puts the guy through hell. Rodney's always had mixed feelings towards Theon, since he's been a supporter of the Starks from the moment he started reading the books, but even he has to admit the guy doesn't deserve what Ramsay did to him, but Peter Kavanagh does... maybe. Rodney's not sure yet.

He's about to start episode nine, mentally preparing himself for The Red Wedding, when his phone buzzes against the glass table. He puts his feet on the floor, leaning forward to pick up his phone, his stomach lurching when he sees it's a text from Sheppard. Rodney takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and opens the text.

 _ **Did you really punch Peter Kavanagh?**  _That's it? That's all he gets? Rodney apologizes and Sheppard wants to know if he really punched Peter? He's going to send a text about properly accepting an apology, but Sheppard sends another, stopping him.  _ **Why?**_ ** _  
_**

Rodney sends back:  _ **Because he's an asshole.**_

John doesn't respond, and McKay figures Sheppard didn't like his answer, but really what did the guy expect? Rodney isn't lying, Peter Kavanagh is an asshole, and he'd punch him again. If he has to be the Tyrion Lannister to Kavanagh's Joffrey Baratheon he will be, since someone needs to slap some sense into the brat. That also begs the question, if Rodney is Tyrion and Peter is Joffrey, did that make John Sansa Stark in this scenario?

 _Wait what_? Rodney really needs to stop watching _Game of Thrones._  

* * *

When Rodney returns to school on Thursday, he really wishes he had Harry's Invisibility Cloak, or the ability to change his face like Jaqen H'ghar. He's never punched anyone before, not even his stupid cousin Edwin when he told everyone about Rodney accidentally ordering porn when they were nine, so he's not exactly sure how he should act after his suspension. Should he pretend it never happened or own up to it? Which one sounded less conceited? Or did he want to sound conceited? Punching people is just not worth all this effort. He doesn't care one way of the other, so why is he making such a big deal about it?

He opts to pretend it never happened, see what that gets him, and gets off his scooter. He walks inside, very much aware of the stares that are following him, but ignores them. He's doing quite well actually, until he sees his locker. Written in red letters is the word _VENDETTA._  Like he doesn't have enough problems to deal with as it is, it seems Kavanagh is not about to let Rodney forget what had happened on Monday. 

"Figures."

If they were in the _Game of Thrones_ , Rodney has a feeling Kavanagh would have challenged him to a combat by swords. Granted, with Peter's asthma and Rodney's ability to bruise really easily, the fight probably wouldn't last very long, and would most likely end with both of them dead. It's a shame he didn't have someone like Melisandra on his side. He didn't want Peter dead or anything, but maybe she could make him fail all his classes or something; it'd be a lot easier than having to deal with the younger guy.

"What happened?" Beckett asks, appearing at Rodney's side.

"Vendetta?" Laura stands at Rodney's other side, her eyes flicking between him and the word. "Is this about Monday?"

"I'm not apologizing," McKay says without looking at his friends.

"Didn't expect you to, McKay," Cadman replies without any malice in her voice. "What do you plan to do?" Rodney doesn't answer, his gaze still locked on the red word, but he figures if Kavanagh wants a war then he's damn well going to get one.

Rodney's probably going to get expelled.


	7. This Is War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, hi. So, I am sorry about this chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading, remember I don't own these characters, and drop me a comment if you have the chance.
> 
> Thank you for your comments last chapter.
> 
> Bye!!!

In the twelve years that Rodney has known Peter Kavanagh, he still doesn't know who the guy's friends are. He never sees the younger boy talking to anyone in the hallway, Peter generally spends his lunch period in the library, and whenever anyone has to talk to Kavanagh, he spends the entire time reminding them they can never reach his level of intellect, and that can get a little annoying after awhile.

"He's like a younger version of you," Cadman comments grinning when Rodney glares at her. Her smiles fades a few seconds later and she says, "It seems like he doesn't have any friends. It's kind of sad."

"He's a pompous jackass," Rodney reminds her, following her into the gym. They have third period gym class together, something that Cadman enjoys  _way_ too much, and Rodney stops short of the boys' locker room, turning to look at her. "But I'm sure he has, at least, one friend. Alright?"

She looks skeptical, but she shrugs and says, "If you say so." She then walks away, disappearing into the girls' locker room. He huffs, rolling his eyes, and heads into the boys' locker room.

Cadman's waiting for him by the bleachers when he walks out. She pushes away from them, falling into step beside him, and says, "Maybe he just needs a friend."

"Are we seriously still talking about Kavanagh?" Rodney shakes his head, sighing deeply, and looks away from her.

"Come on, McKay. We could be his friends..."

"Good luck with that," he retorts and walks away from her. He's not going to become Peter Kavanagh's friend, that's for damn sure, and Cadman can take her suggestion and stick it somewhere unpleasant for all Rodney cares.

Laura bugs him the rest of their gym class about the prospect of being Peter's friend, so Rodney's glad to part ways with her when Siler excuses them to go shower and change. He vaguely waves when Cadman calls, "Just think about it, Rodney!" He's not going to think about it because there's nothing to think about; Peter Kavanagh is the bane of his existence. It's that simple. They're never going to be friends.

He steps under the shower head, ignoring the chatter going on around him, and turns the water on. It takes a couple seconds (and really Rodney should have known something was up), but something wet, warm, and slimy falls onto his head. He jumps back, him and a half dozen other guys, watching as green gelatin like stuff leaks from the shower head.

"What is this?" Evan Lorne shakes the slime off his hands, a disgusted look on his face. Rodney doesn't want to point fingers, but he thinks Peter Kavanagh had something to do with this.

And Cadman wanted to be his friend.

* * *

"I was wrong, McKay," Cadman says later that day, sitting across from Rodney. She still has small traces of slime in her hair, the girls' locker room getting hit, too, and she looks like she wants blood. "We need to destroy him."

"How do you even know it's him?" Carson asks curiously, trying to be reasonable. Beckett doesn't understand, he hadn't been slimed by a asthmatic who holds grudges longer than a scorned Scorpio.

Ignoring her boyfriend, Laura gives Rodney a determined look and says, "We should get him banned from the library."

"Guys..."

Taking a leaf out of Laura's book, McKay doesn't even bother looking at Carson when he states, "That's stupid. Why would we...?" He trails off when John Sheppard walks by their table. They catch each other's eyes, but neither one says anything, and Sheppard keeps walking a few seconds later. Rodney notices the sympathetic look on Laura's face, and he scoffs.

She looks like she wants to say something about that awkward encounter between Sheppard and McKay, but she gets that Rodney doesn't want to talk about it and instead says, "Kavanagh practically lives in the library. Take that away and what does he have?"

"I don't exactly want to see his face during lunch," Rodney complains begrudgingly thankful she kept her mouth shut. He stabs at his blue jello, watching it wriggle on his plate. He used to love jello, but Kavanagh had ruined that for him. He deserves something bigger than getting banned from the library.

"We could melt his bike down," Cadman suggests shrugging.

"Do you know anyone who can do that?" Rodney asks with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I am not going to be a part of this," Carson announces getting to his feet, snatching his tray off the table. He storms away, Cadman and Rodney watching him as he sits down at Sheppard's table. They look away a few seconds later, both shrugging. It's better this way anyway. Beckett doesn't handle high pressure situations very well and would probably accidentally give the plan away.

They're quiet for a long moment, but finally Laura's eyes widen and she asks, "Hey, remember when Kavanagh turned your dick blue?"

Rodney glares at her. "What's your point?"

"Why can't we just turn his entire body blue?"

"Blue?"

"Or green. Orange. The color doesn't matter." She gives him an expectant look, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Orange?" Rodney nods, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Alright, Cadman," he holds his hand out, "let's do it." She grins, shaking his hand. Rodney never thought he'd willingly team up with Laura Cadman. He's not sure how he feels about this, but he does know that this handshake has gone on long enough. He lets Laura's hand go, scooping up a spoonful of jello.

"So," she starts after a brief lull in conversation, picking a piece of pepperoni off her pizza. "What's going on with you and Sheppard?" She pops the pepperoni in her mouth, her eyes brows raising in inquiry.

Rodney, who had finally shoveled some jello into his mouth, nearly chokes on it. He coughs, spitting the food out, and wheezes, "What?" So much for her not bringing the subject of him and John up.

She shrugs, pulling her pizza slice apart. "It just, one minute you two are hanging out and the next he won't sit with us anymore. I was getting used to having his friends around, Teyla and Ronon especially. Did you two have a fight?"

He rubs the side of his neck, making it a point to  _not_ look at John's table, and says, "It's none of your business."

"I'm just asking..."

"I have to get to class." Rodney springs to his feet, snatching his tray off the table. "I'll meet you after school." He stomps off before Laura can say anything else, dumping his garbage into a nearby trash can. He practically throws it onto the pile sitting in front of the dishwasher, ignoring the way she glares at him, and retreats to the boys' bathroom. He doesn't know why he keeps ending up here, but it's usually empty so he takes advantage of the privacy while he still has it.

Rodney hasn't actually talked to Sheppard since he sent that text on Wednesday. He tried on Friday, during chess practice, tried to apologize in person, but Sheppard hadn't been there, and when he asked Teyla where John was, she'd given him a searching look and asked, " _How can someone so smart be so stupid?"_

He hears the door open, turning to see Ronon and Lorne enter the bathroom, the former walking backwards, talking to the latter. "...time on him anyway? He's not worth it."

"Yeah, but it's not like..." Evan trails off when he spots Rodney, biting his lip. Ronon, curious as to why his friend stopped talking, follows Lorne's gaze, his eyes narrowing when he sees Rodney.

"Oh. It's you."

"What about me?"

"Nothing," Ronon grunts shoving past McKay as he heads towards a urinal. As he starts doing his business, he glances back at Evan and asks, "You and Zelenka coming to my party this weekend?"

"I don't know." Lorne shrugs leaning against a sink, both boys having decided to pretend Rodney isn't in the room. "I'll have to ask him what he's doing."

"Can you say whipped?" Ronon smirking over his shoulder and Evan glares at him. The other boy shrugs, finishing up, and flushes the urinal. He moves towards the sink, turning the water on, and runs his hands under the spray. "If you and the husband can make it," Ronon starts pumping soap into the palm of his hand, "can you pick up Teyla on the way? Her dad needs the truck."

"Yeah." Lorne ruffles his hair, shuffling his feet.

It takes Rodney a moment, but he finally blurts out, "Wait, you and Zelenka are dating?"

"We weren't talking to you, McKay," Ronon states gruffly, turning the water off. He pushes past Rodney again, moving towards the paper towel machine, and pulls the handle down, ripping the paper towels from the dispenser.

"What have I done to you?" McKay demands knowing he's walking a fine line, but not really giving a crap. Ronon and he may not be friends, but he's never been an outright dick to Rodney, and it's irritating him to no end.

Ronon snorts, shaking his head back and forth. He exchanges a look with Lorne, the other boy flashing him a 'be-careful' look, but Dex ignores it, taking three steps towards Rodney. "I should break your nose."

McKay takes half a step back, but still pulls himself to his full height, and says, "Generally when someone asks you a question, you answer it. Not threaten them with violence like a caveman."

Ronon huffs, an almost feral look crossing his face, but Evan's sharp voice stops him from doing anything. "John said leave him alone, Ronon."

"Yeah," the taller kid says, his dark eyes drilling into Rodney's blue ones, "I know."

"Let's go."

Ronon looks like he wants to argue, but instead he turns and follows Evan out of the room, tossing his paper towel away as he walks past the garbage can. When the door closes, Rodney collapses against the sink, breathing deeply, running a shaky hand down his face.

_What the hell was that about?_

* * *

"This stuff will turn his skin orange?" Cadman asks scooping out a ladle full of Rodney's concoction, wrinkling her nose at the smell.

"Yes," he answers impatiently, having answered more than enough of her incessant questions for one day. "Do you remember your part of the plan?"

"Yes." It is her turn to give him an impatient look, but Rodney ignores it, adding a few more ingredients to his dye.

When he's satisfied, he empties the contents into a bucket and hands it to Cadman. "If you get caught..."

"I won't get caught," she retorts and slips out of the room. Rodney leans against the lab table, using the free time he has to reflect on his encounter with Ronon and Evan earlier in the bathroom. He's not really that surprised, now that he has time to think about it. Both Dex and Lorne are John's friends, not Rodney's, so of course they were going to be pissed off at him for what he did to Sheppard. He'd be more surprised if one (or both) chose his side. He's lucky Ronon hadn't ripped his face off. He's lucky John Sheppard is a decent guy.

Rodney really needs to apologize.

* * *

McKay doesn't get the chance to apologize over the next few days; he's too busy fighting a war against Kavanagh. Beckett, after the third day, ends up joining the battle when his shoes get superglued to the floor. It takes Rodney and Cadman by surprise when they realize just how vindictive Beckett can be, and they have to talk him out of going all Carrie White on Peter and dumping a bucket of red paint over his head (though, the color would go nicely with Kavanagh's orange skin).

The pranks are petty and stupid, something Rodney knows he shouldn't be involved in, but no one is getting hurt, so he doesn't see what the big deal is. That is, until Friday after school.

_It started on Thursday, he and Laura were lingering near the cafeteria, waiting for Beckett, when Todd Kenmore approached them. The Kenmores have more kids than any sane person should have, and all of them are super pale and have white, blond hair (like a group of demented Targaryens running around; Viserys to be exact). Their older brother, Michael, had graduated the year before, going off to Stanford, and in his absence his siblings sort of stopped associating with the other kids in school. Why, exactly, Todd was even bothering talking to Rodney was a mystery._

_"McKay, Cadman" Todd had said bowing his head._

_"Hi?" McKay glanced over at Cadman and she shrugged. "What?"_

_"Kavanagh wants a truce."_

_"He what?" Now, Rodney had been really intrigued. "And he sent you because...?"_

_"He wanted someone impartial. I have no reason to participate in your barbaric war. Therefore, he sent me."_

_The whole family doesn't even talk like normal humans, something that freaks Rodney out sometimes, but he refrained from saying anything (just barely).  Rodney expected Cadman to argue, but he could clearly see that she was tired of this war, and, truth be told, he's a little tired of it, too, so he opted to say, ""Alright. When?"_

_"Tomorrow. After school. The cafeteria."_

_"Okay."_

_Todd had bowed his head again and walked away. Cadman watched him go for a long moment before saying, "I don't trust him."_

_"Me either, but I'm running out of prank ideas."_

_"No you're not."_

_"Alright, so I am running out of harmless prank ideas."_

They have to talk Beckett into agreeing to the truce, he's still peeved about his shoes, but eventually he follows them to the cafeteria. They head inside, Cadman on Rodney's left, Beckett on his right, but stop when they find the room empty. Cadman lets her eyes scan the room before asking, "Does this feel a little trappy to you?"

"Yeah," Beckett and McKay reply, and the trio turns to leave but the doors slam shut. Carson races towards them, trying to push them open, but they won't budge. He runs a hand through his hair and asks, "What do we do now?"

"I don't..." Rodney's words trail off into an audible ' _oof'_ as a red dodge ball bounces off his hip. Several more fly through the air, the Kenmore siblings popping up everywhere, and soon the air is full of red balls of death (okay, not death, but pain). Cadman takes cover under a table, pulling Beckett with her, but both still take a couple shots to the torso. Rodney dodges as many as he can, but he's never been the most flexible person, and he ends up taking more hits than is probably healthy.

He trips over his feet, landing heavily on his butt, looking up to see Todd walking towards him, a black dodgeball in his hand. He tilts his head, his face blank, his greenish-yellow eyes meeting Rodney's, and says, "Kavanagh sends his regards." He throws the ball right at Rodney's face.

As the ball flies at him, Rodney's last thought is,  _I have been Red Wedding'd by Peter 'fricking' Kavanagh. How is this even my life?_

* * *

O'Neill looks between Rodney and Peter, opening his mouth to say something, but immediately closes it again. He tries again, shakes his head, gestures at both boys, and finally asks, "Why?"

Rodney rubs his bruised face and grumbles, "He started it."

"I did not!" Kavanagh argues, his voice squeaking, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. He pushes them back into place and says, "He's lying."

"I am not! You put the green slime in the shower!"

"You turned my skin orange!!"

"I almost had my scooter towed!!"

"I still can't find my history textbook!"

"LOOK AT MY FACE!!!!"

"BOYS!" Both Kavanagh and Rodney's heads snap towards O'Neill, and he calmly says, "I don't care who started it. You're gonna end it now. Do you understand me?"

"But..."

"No." He points at both boys, a 'that's final' look on his face. "Life is hard enough without you two trying to kill each other. So, you're done. Alright?"

Grudgingly, both boys agree, neither one looking at the other, and O'Neill finally dismisses them. Kavanagh gives Rodney a dirty look before storming out of the room. McKay waits a few seconds before following him, rubbing at his bruised face again. He really should have nipped the stupid war in the butt a long time ago.

He heads towards his locker, wanting nothing more than to go home, but he stops when he sees Sheppard leaning against the wall, nodding along to something Nancy Keener is saying. He has a fond smile on his face, and he's looking at her like she's the only person in the world. Rodney feels his world start to implode around him, his eyes stinging, and he stumbles over his feet as he turns and heads towards the school exit.

He literally cannot deal with this right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nancy is Sheppard's ex-wife in the show. I don't know what her maiden name is, so I improvised.
> 
> Once again, I am very sorry.


	8. Hey Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never planned to have Cadman be in this story as much as she seems to be, but I don't mind it either. I like writing for her.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and commenting last chapter. And thanks for sticking with this story even though I have no fricking clue what I am doing.
> 
> See ya in the next chapter.

Rodney spends Saturday morning lying on the couch, watching the blank television screen, imaging Khal Drogo pouring molten gold over Nancy Keener's head. He knows, deep down, that he's being irrational. This isn't Nancy's fault; it's not anyone's fault. Okay, so it might be Rodney's fault. A little bit. If he allows himself to admit it. Which he does not.

Jeannie plops down next to him around eleven, patting his hair, and asks, "You want me to make you some soup?" Rodney grunts; he does not want Jeannie's pity soup. "You wanna talk about it?" His sister pokes him with her index finger when he neglects to answer. "Because if you do, I'll listen." She taps her fingers against his forehead, humming tunelessly to herself, and Rodney rolls his eyes. She's not going to annoy him into talking; she does not have that much power over him.

They sit in complete silence for nearly an hour before Jeannie sighs and says, "I'm here, Rodney." She leans down, pressing her lips to the side of his head, and gets up, leaving the room. Not even ten minutes later, Cadman calls him, but Rodney presses  _ignore_ on his phone. She calls six more times, rapid fire, before sending eight texts in a row. After the ninth text, Rodney grabs his phone off the table and texts back, **_WHAT??_**

 ** _Jeez, McKay no need to get salty,_**  she texts back and he snorts humorlessly. He almost sends back a scathing comment, but she sends another text before he can finish typing the sentence. **_Beckett and I are taking you out tonight. Be ready by five._**

 **** ** _Why would I willingly go anywhere with you?_** Rodney furiously types back, but Cadman response is just a grinning emoticon. He rolls his eyes, putting his phone on the floor, and returns to his daydreaming. He has no intention of going anywhere tonight. He plans to brood for another few hours before watching the last few episodes of Game of Thrones. After which, he will go to bed and brood some more. He's a genius, geniuses brood, so why can't everyone just let him brood?

He knows he shouldn't be surprised. Sheppard  _did_ have a crush on someone in their class, according to his brother, and while Nancy Keener is not weird by any means (she's co-captain of the volleyball team and is big in student council), she's, by no means, a bad choice for a crush. She's pretty and popular and clearly in John's league. Rodney's none of those things, and he's okay with that. He's okay with the fact that his crush ( _ugh_ ) is unrequited. He's perfectly okay with it. His feelings will be gone by January, he'll graduate in a year and a half, and then he'll be off to Cambridge or some place far, far from here, and he'll never have to see John Sheppard again. It's not his fault a part of him doesn't like that plan. It's what's going to happen and that side of him can suck it.

True to her word, Cadman and Beckett show up at five. Rodney's still lying on the couch, pretending he lives in a world where he's an emotionless robot who cares about nothing but science. She appears over him, hands on her hips, an impatient look on her face. She glances over at Beckett, nodding her head at Rodney, and Carson sighs but still grabs McKay's feet and, with a little effort, yanks him off the couch.

"Hey," Rodney yelps when he hits the floor. He scrambles to his feet (not even caring that he's wearing nothing but boxers with helixes printed on them and a _Get Smart_ t-shirt) and snaps, "This is my house. Get out."

Cadman snorts, clearly amused by his threats, which, for the record, is an insult, and warns, "I'm going to give you five seconds to get dressed McKay. If you don't, I will pick out your clothes for you."

"You don't control me," Rodney argues, hating how petulant he sounds.

"One," Cadman counts raising her eyebrows, silently challenging him.

"Seriously, you're going to count?"

"Two." She takes a step towards the hallway leading to his bedroom (and he's going to kill Jeannie because he has a feeling _she's_ behind this since Laura's never been to his house but still seems to know exactly where she's going).

"Keep counting," Rodney says shrugging. "I'm not going."

"Three," she says a bit louder, taking another step towards his bedroom. "I've got three older brothers, McKay. Do you honestly think I'm going to back down?"

"I live with Jeannie," Rodney retorts crossing his arms. "I'm used to dealing with little sisters."

"Four." She's stubborn, Rodney will admit that, but so is he; she's not winning this game. "Five."

* * *

Rodney sits in the backseat of Beckett's car, glaring out the window. Cadman is smiling triumphantly from the front seat, nodding her head to the Arctic Monkey's song playing from the radio. Carson keeps looking between his girlfriend and Rodney, expecting the latter to start throwing punches, but McKay's too busy cursing Cadman into oblivion to do anything.

He's wearing a black button down and a pair of jeans, Laura having thrown the clothes at his head after five minutes of sifting through his meager wardrobe. She threatened to dress him herself if Rodney didn't put the clothes on, and after an intense stare off, he finally, begrudgingly, got dressed, grumbling under his breath the entire time. Afterwards, Laura shoved his jacket at him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him outside, ignoring his protests.

He doesn't know where they are going, neither Cadman nor Beckett telling him, and he's more than a little irritated. He hates not knowing, hates being surprised, and he has this feeling that he's not going to like where they're taking him. His bruised nose gives a nasty throb, and he gently rubs it, taking that as a sign. He should abandon ship, jump out of the car the moment it stops, run all the way home and resume his brooding.

To Rodney's astonishment, they end up at Pegasus Pizzeria. Beckett parks his car between a Toyota and a Ford, and the trio head inside, Cadman chatting goodnaturedly about something (Rodney isn't paying attention but Carson is nodding along and smiling), but her words trail off when she spots a mousy girl standing in the entryway. She grins and says, "Katie, hey!"

"Laura," Katie Brown greets with a nervous smiles, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Hi."

Rodney eyes Cadman suspiciously, but she ignores him. "Sorry we're late," she says to Katie. "Rodney here," she thumps McKay on the shoulder, "just couldn't decide what to wear." She grins when he gives her a dark look.

"It's fine," Katie states with a weak smile. "I just got here myself."

"Let's sit," Beckett exclaims when Rodney opens his mouth to argue, tugging Cadman away from him, and McKay is left alone with Katie. He knows her vaguely, having seen her hanging around the greenhouses with Parrish and Kiang, and he has a feeling Laura wants him to get to know her better. He's totally going to kill Cadman.

"So, uh, how are you?" Katie asks curiously.

"Fine," Rodney grunts shoving his hands in his pockets. "You?"

"I'm okay."

They stand there awkwardly until Cadman calls them over to the table. Rodney gives Katie a forced smile, possibly looking a little deranged, and hurries over to the table. He hears her scurry after him, and he sits across from Carson, chewing on his tongue. Katie lowers herself into the chair to his left, looking down at the table, placing her hands in her lap.

"Nice place," she comments to no one in particular, rocking a little in her chair. "I've never been here."

"The pizza's good," Cadman says glancing over a menu. "And the owner makes his own root beer, which is amazing." She turns a page, her eyes flicking over the choices. When she gets to the end of the menu, she closes it, looks up, and offers Katie a smile, asking, "So, do you know Rodney?"

"Um..." Katie glances over at McKay, shaking her head. "Not well."

"Too bad." Laura's eyes settle on Rodney, a mischievous glint in them. "He talks about you all the time."

Katie flushes red and Rodney jumps to his feet, nodding his head towards the bathrooms. "Laura," he starts, forcing himself to sound pleasant, no doubt failing from the way Cadman has to hold back a laugh, "can I talk to you?"

"Sure." She gets up, following Rodney to the short hallway housing the bathrooms, turning to face him when they're out of earshot. "McKay?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Rodney demands throwing his hands out in front of him.

"Helping," Cadman answers with a shrug, taking half a step back to avoid getting hit with his flailing hands.

"This," he gestures behind him, towards their table, "is  _not_ helping."

"It is, actually." Laura puts her hands on her hips, giving Rodney a no nonsense look, and says, "You obviously liked Sheppard, he clearly liked you, but then you two broke up or whatever, and he moved on. You need to move on, too, Rodney."

"I'm not moving on..." McKay trails off, Laura's words catching up to him. "Wait, what?"

"Look, stay, don't stay, I don't care." Cadman storms away, leaving Rodney really confused. Laura clearly had been reading into something she had no business reading into and came out with the wrong conclusion. John Sheppard didn't _like_ him. McKay likes Sheppard, has his stupid, temporary crush, but John's feelings for Rodney are purely platonic. If anything, Rodney could have been projecting his feelings onto Sheppard and  _that's_ what Laura picked up on; it's the only explanation.

He stands there for another few minutes before sighing and returning to the table. Laura isn't looking at him, Beckett looks concerned, and Katie looks nervous, so Rodney clears his throat and says, "The sausage pizza is better than pepperoni."

He sees a smile creep across Cadman's face and she vehemently states, "Pepperoni owns sausage's ass, McKay."

All in all, it's not a bad surprise date. Katie isn't someone he sees himself with long term, not when her interests include talking about her plants, but she could be a lot worse; even if she is a little (a lot) boring. After dinner, Cadman and Beckett lead the way as the quartet head towards the parking lot. Katie offers Rodney a smile and he returns it, this time with less of a grimace.

"This was fun," Katie states running her fingers through her hair. "We should do it again."

"Oh, this evening is  _far_ from over," Cadman announces walking backwards, somehow managing to keep her arm looped through Carson's. "We're going to a party." She turns back around, dragging Carson towards his car.

Rodney and Katie exchange a look before McKays shouts, "Wait! What? CADMAN!!" She waves vaguely over her shoulder, and he grunts but quickly chases after her and Beckett, Katie on his heels.

* * *

Ronon's house is on the border between the north and the south side. Rodney doesn't know what Ronon's father does, exactly, but he makes enough money to have a nice house. And it is a nice house. Not too big, but not so small that the partygoers ended up smashed together like sardines. That doesn't stop a couple people from mulling around outside, standing in small groups of two or three, talking among themselves. Loud, thumping music can be heard, even from outside, and Rodney gives the party until eleven before a busybody neighbor calls the police. He silently wonders if he'll get arrested tonight, and immediately decides he would not do well in prison.

No one gives the quartet a second glance as they head towards the front door, not that Rodney thought anyone would, and soon enough they're inside. The music reverberates through McKay, some Avicii song he's heard Jeannie playing a couple times, and a few of his classmates are dancing to it. Some of the dance moves look semi-errotic and would most definitely get them kicked out had they been at a school dance. He looks away with a sudden need to bleach his eyeballs.

"Have fun!" Cadman shouts over the music, a broad grin on her face, and drags Carson into the throng of people.

Rodney glances over at Katie, who looks nervously around, and loudly asks, "You want a drink or something?"

"Um, sure," she replies nodding her head.

They maneuver their way through the crowd, getting jostled a couple times, but eventually they make it to the kitchen. Rodney finds three coolers of alcohol and one full of soda; the former having far less than the latter. He grabs two cans from the soda cooler, handing one to Katie, and she gives him a smile; silently thanking him. He shrugs, nodding his head towards the sitting room, and she follows him out of the room.

They squish together on a leather couch, smashed between one couple making out and another arguing over whether or not so-and-so had been flirting with whatshername. For a bit they sit in silence, Avicii transitioning into some pop song that Rodney doesn't know, before Katie says, "This is awkward!"

"Yeah," Rodney agrees ducking away from a flailing hand. The same hand hits him in the groin and he jerks forward, drawing in a sharp breath. "We should move now," he suggests and Katie nods, looking concerned.

They end up sitting on the steps, as far away from the partiers as they can get, silently sipping their sodas. Katie's the one to break the silence again, shouting, "What happened to your face?"

"This?" Rodney points at his bruised nose and she nods. "Kavanagh's a piece of shit!"

"I heard he attacked you, Laura, and Carson," Katie states gripping her soda between her hands.

"Sorta," McKay informs truthfully. "He hired the Kenmores to help him; offered them weekends in the computer lab!"

"The Kenmores are a little creepy!"

"I know!"

After that, he and Katie seem to hit if off, talking about Star Trek and DC mostly. Naturally, her favorite characters are Sulu and Poison Ivy, both plant enthusiasts, but she admits that she had a crush on Captain Kirk when she'd been younger. Rodney shrugs it off, mentioning how much he likes Cat Woman, and they spend a good five minutes arguing good-naturedly about whether Bruce and Selina make better allies or enemies. For a while, Rodney allows himself to forget about his problems, lets himself enjoy Katie's company.

It's brought to a sudden, unexpected end when he sees Sheppard dancing with Nancy. She has her arms around his neck, his hands are on her waist, and she's whispering something in his ear. He smiles shyly, shaking his head, and she lets her head rest on his shoulder. Jealousy burns in Rodney's stomach as he crushes the can in his hand, cutting his palm on the edge of the aluminum. He ignores his newly acquired wound, shoving himself to his feet, and looks down at Katie.

"You wanna dance?" he asks, his voice gruff, and she looks taken aback but still nods.

He leads her into another part of the house, away from Sheppard and Nancy. He puts his hands on her hips, she wraps her arms around his neck, and they awkwardly sway back and forth. Rodney clenches his jaw, glaring at something over Katie's shoulder, not really listening to the song. In fact, he's not listening to anything; too busy imagining that Nancy is three inches tall and he's about to step on her.

"Are you okay?" Katie asks warily, giving him a worried look.

"Peachy," Rodney snaps with a forced smile, no doubt looking crazed if Katie's surprised look is anything to go by. "Just peachy."

"Are you sure?"

Rodney doesn't respond, his eyes tracking John and Nancy as they head into the kitchen, the latter tugging the former along by his hand. For a brief moment, Sheppard's gaze catches McKay's, and something flickers in his eyes, something Rodney can't quite identify but it makes his stomach clench. They hold eye contact for a few seconds before Sheppard breaks it, his gaze drifting to his feet, allowing Nancy to drag him away.

McKay releases Katie, taking a step away from her, and says, "I need some air."

"Okay."

Rodney bursts outside a few minutes later, sucking in a deep breath. He lets it out, running a hand through his hair, ignoring the way people are staring at him. He stomps down the steps, walking past a underclassman throwing up in the bushes, her friend holding her hair back, and wanders around the house, towards the backyard. He finds a stone bench next to a bird bath and slowly sinks onto it, clenching his hands in his lap. He glares at the ground, hating the feelings Sheppard stirs inside of him; hating that he can't have one stinking night without having to remember how badly he screwed up.

He sits there for a while, but eventually he gets up, heading back inside, stopping in the doorway. Someone has shut the music off, the party coming to an abrupt halt as everyone gathers around an arguing couple. For a moment, Rodney thinks it is the two girls who were arguing earlier, but he's proven wrong when he finds them lingering in the corner, watching the drama just like everyone else.

"...didn't want to date me you could have said something," a female yells, her voice hard and angry.

"I'm sorry," a male says quietly.

"You're sorry!" She throws her hands up, shoving her way through the crowd. It's only when she's at the door that Rodney realizes it's Nancy Keener. He tries to get out of her way, but when she spots him, she stops and screams, "He's all yours, freak!" She storms down the steps without a backwards glance. Rodney watches her go for a brief moment before turning, his eyes settling on Sheppard.

John has his arms crossed, his eyes on the floor, but he looks up sharply when he feels Rodney's eyes on him. He wets his lips, a nervous look flitting across his face, and when McKay takes a step towards him, he turns on his heel and hurries out of the room. There's an awkward silence for nearly five minutes before someone turns the music back on and the crowd returns their attention to the party.

Rodney tries to chase after Sheppard, but he gets turned around by the crowd. When he eventually gets through, John's already gone. He leans against the walls, running a hand through his hair, silently wondering what had just happened.


	9. Almost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hey, I know this is a little later than usual, and I'm sorry. Been a little busy.
> 
> I'm going to be honest, this story probably has two more chapters left in it (maybe three if I really push it), but I'll probably write another story SGA... maybe. We'll see.
> 
> Anyway, thank you to those who commented last chapter. I know, I should probably start responding to you guys personally, but I never know what to say. Just know that I do appreciate every comment this story gets.
> 
> So, thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you have the time, and I still don't own these characters.
> 
> P.S. Harriman is Walter's last name. For those who didn't know.
> 
> Alright see ya!!

_"Sorry I missed your call,"_   John's voice message says for the sixth time that day. Rodney sighs, running a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth across his bedroom floor. He almost hangs up, like he did the other times, but this time he takes a deep breath and says, " _John, it's Rodney. Uh, call me back, okay?"_ He hangs up, tossing his phone onto his bed, running his hands down his face.

Ever since the 'incident' last night, Rodney has been on a quest to talk to John. Besides the seven phone calls, he's also tried texting Sheppard a dozen times, hoping at some point he'd get an answer. It's frustrating, to say the least, not knowing what's going on in the guy's head. Rodney wants to know what exactly Nancy meant when she said ' _he's all yours.'_ He gets what it implies, clearly, like everyone else he's been in contact with over the past few weeks, she thinks Sheppard has this massive crush on him, but implying doesn't necessarily  _mean_ it's true.

He really needs to talk to John.

Rodney grabs his phone off his bed, hitting redial, and listens to the rings. After three, Sheppard's voicemail picks up again. " _Sorry I missed your call."_   Rodney hangs up, shoving his phone in his backpocket. He grabs his sweatshirt off the back of his chair, snatches his keys off his desk, and rushes out of his room. If John won't answer his calls then Rodney's going to have to go to him.

Sheppard isn't home when Rodney gets to his house (it appears no one is home), but he doesn't let that deter him, and he opts to sit on John's porch steps and wait for him to come home. As he sits there, McKay starts thinking about last night again. About Nancy and Sheppard's breakup; how Nancy screamed in his face; how Cadman is completely convinced that he and Sheppard were some tragic love story that ended abruptly and with no warning whatsoever. He thinks about the last time he spoke to Sheppard, really talked to him and not over some text message; about how he let weasley, smarmy Kavanagh manipulate him the way that he did. He thinks about the feelings he developed for John and finally allows himself to wonder, if only for a moment, if they were more than just a crush. He thinks about a lot of things and he comes to one definite conclusion: everything seems to be spiraling out of control and Rodney can't seem to stop it.

"What are you doing here?" a careful, wary voice asks, startling McKay, and he looks up to find Sheppard standing over him with his arms crossed and a guarded expression on his face.

Rodney jumps to his feet, wringing his hands. He hasn't really given much thought as to what he wants to say to John, more preoccupied with trying to get the guy to answer his calls, and he immediately regrets that decision now that Sheppard is standing in front of him. He knows he should probably start simple, maybe a greeting or a question about the weather, but what comes out of his mouth is a sharp, "Why haven't you been answering your phone?"  _Oh my god._

Sheppard breaks eye contact with him, glaring at the ground, and mutters, "Kinda thought it was obvious."

"Well, it's not," Rodney snaps harshly. "Spell it out for me because I'm having a hard time trying to figure it out."

John lets out a frustrated sigh, looking up to meet Rodney's eyes again, a pained expression flitting across his face. "You were there last night. You  _saw_ what happened."

"I saw you and Nancy Keener break up," McKay says slowly, trying to keep his voice even, trying to push away Nancy's parting words to him.

"Why are you doing this?" John exclaims startling Rodney. He sucks in a deep breath, running a hand through his hair, and calmly says, "You heard her, McKay. You heard her and I just..." he shakes his head, taking another ragged breath. He looks up at the sky, squeezes his eyes shut, and whispers, "I can't."

"What are you talking about?" The words are barely audible, but Rodney can tell Sheppard heard him, especially when he tilts his head down, giving McKay a tired look, and it clicks. While the clues have been sitting in front of him, he had been too stubborn to put the pieces together. He hadn't  _wanted_ to believe because the last thing he wanted was to get his hopes up only to have them crushed. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Come on, Rodney," John argues crossing his arms again. "You kinda stopped talking to me. You clearly hated me, so I figured what was the point?"

"I never..." Okay, John had a point. "But _you_ stopped sitting with me first."

"Yeah, after you told me to get my own friends."

 _Wait what?_ "I don't remember..."

"Of course you don't," John says, a defeated look on his face. He shakes his head, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. He gives Rodney a brittle smile and states, "Look, it was a long time ago. I'm over it." He steps around McKay, heading towards his front door, adding over his shoulder, "Goodbye, Rodney."

"Goodbye?" Rodney turns on his heel, giving John an incredulous look. "We're not done here!"

"What more do you want from me?" John turns, throwing his hands out, a questioning look on his face. "What more could you possibly want? I like you, Rodney, I have since the first grade, but we just..." he trails off, sighing, huffing bitterly. "Go home, Rodney."

"What? We just, what?"

"Go home," Sheppard repeats and quickly retreats inside, closing the door behind him.

Rodney wants to race up the porch steps, wants to pound on the door until John opens it, but he doesn't. Instead, he sniffs, nodding his head, and softly says, "Alright." He turns to head back towards his Vespa, but stops, slowly turning around. He studies Sheppard's door for a brief moment before calling, "I might like you, too!" He walks away, letting the words dangle in the air, knowing they probably wouldn't be enough, figuring he could have started with an apology, trying to ignore the way his heart thuds in his chest. He can't help feeling like he made a mistake, swinging his leg over the scooter with a dejected sigh, but before he can start it he hears the door open.

"You what?"

Rodney's head turns towards the voice, his eyes settling on Sheppard. John's standing on his porch, a wary look on his face, but hope flickers in his eyes. McKay offers him a pale smile before saying, "You heard me." He faces forward again, shoving his helmet on his head. He starts his Vespa, fighting the sudden need to look back at Sheppard, and drives away. He doesn't let himself wonder if this is a good idea, doesn't follow that urging instinct telling him to turn around, and soon he's sitting in front of his house.

Rodney's heart is still racing, his hands are shaking, and he can't seem to push down the anxiety trying to punch its way out of his stomach. He told Sheppard he likes him; he told Sheppard something he had no intention of ever telling him; what the hell had he been thinking? He hadn't been thinking, that's the problem, and now he's sitting in his driveway like an idiot because he actually drove away afterward. He didn't even give John a chance to process the information before going on his merry way.

 _I am a moron,_  Rodney berates himself, leaning forward, his helmet bumping against the Vespa's handlebars. He should never had let this crush get so bad, should have nipped it in the butt a long time ago. He's an embarrassment to all physicists (past, present, and future) everywhere; he does not deserve to wear the labcoat (when he gets a labcoat since he doesn't exactly own one yet). He should pack his things, move to Antarctica, and never look back; live among the penguins and polarbears. At least they can't judge him; well, they could, but they couldn't do it verbally and that's really all that matters to Rodney right now.

After his tiny existential crisis, he picks his head up and gets off his scooter. He pushes it into the garage, pulls his helmet off his head, and goes inside, dropping his helmet onto the counter. He gets a root beer out of the refrigerator, pops the cap off, and turns to find his sister watching him from the kitchen entryway, holding an empty bowl, shuffling her barefeet, and he says, "What?"

"You alright?" Jeannie asks curiously. She looks worried, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, her eyebrows furrowed, and all Rodney can do is shrug. He's not alright, but he doesn't want to talk about it either, so he sets his untouched drink on the counter and walks past his sister, heading towards his room. He falls face first onto his bed, burying his head under his pillow, and vows to not get up until graduation day.

* * *

Rodney does get up the next morning and goes to school. He even gives Jeannie a ride without complaining, but he nearly stops and kicks her off six times because she keeps trying to talk to him, and the last thing he wants to do is talk to his little sister. He doesn't see Sheppard in the hallway, which simultaneously pleases and disappoints him, but that doesn't stop him from going about his day like nothing happened that weekend. He does hear a few whispers in the hallway, feels eyes on the back of his head, but he ignores it all; hellbent on pretending everything is fine. Because it is fine.

McKay actually lets himself believe he's succeeding, until he's unexpectedly reminded during sixth period English. He's sitting in the third row, listening to Harriman drown on and on about whatever book they're reading this week (Rodney thinks it's Huckleberry Finn, but he swears he saw Teyla reading Gatsby the other day), when someone knocks on the door.

Harriman stops, mid sentence, giving the class a questioning look (clearly expecting  _them_ to know who's at the door), and walks towards it. He opens it, ducking his head outside, and Rodney hears a muttered conversation before Harriman pulls his head back inside. "McKay, Principal O'Neill needs to see you," he says looking directly at Rodney, his face unreadable.

"What for?" Rodney asks sharply. His first instinct is to blame Kavanagh, knows the guy still has it out for him, wonders what he could have possibly told O'Neill to get him into trouble.

"I don't know," Harriman says with a tired sigh. "Please, just go."

"Fine." McKay shoves himself to his feet, already planning how to get Peter back, and walks out of the classroom. He stops short when he finds Sheppard waiting for him, his stomach clenching with raw nerves. "Hey," he says softly.

"Hey," John greets with a small wave.

Rodney closes the door and whispers, "I'm guessing O'Neill really  _doesn't_ want to see me."

Sheppard shakes his head, an amused look flitting across his face, and asks, "Wanna take a walk?"

McKay glances over his shoulder, expecting Harriman to be listening at the door, but he's already returned to his lesson as if Rodney's absence means nothing to him (it probably doesn't). Rodney looks back at John and nods, putting his hands in his pocket. Sheppard nods back and starts walking, McKay trails behind him. For a while, neither one says anything, quickly passing classrooms so they aren't caught and escorted back to class, until they end up at the door leading to the roof.

"Don't they keep this locked?" Rodney asks when John easily opens the door.

Sheppard shrugs. "I know a guy," he says over his shoulder, leading Rodney up the steps.

"You  _know_ a guy? Who?"

John doesn't answer, pushing another door open, and steps outside. Rodney huffs, following him, and Sheppard makes sure the door is propped open by a concrete slab before turning to face McKay. He fidgets for a moment, crossing his arms and then uncrossing them, glancing over his shoulder, before asking, "How's your nose?"

"My nose?" Rodney touches his nose, shrugging his shoulders. "It's better. I didn't break it."

"That's good." John rocks on his heels, nodding his head, but doesn't say anything else.

"Look, John..."

"Did you mean it? What you said yesterday?" he blurts out, cutting Rodney off, a flash of panic flickering in his eyes. Clearly, Sheppard had been working up to the question, had no intention of practically screaming it at Rodney, and had this been any other circumstance, any other person, McKay would have thought it was a little funny. Of course, he's the king of saying whatever's on his mind, whether you like it or not, so he can also relate to Sheppard at that moment.

So, instead of laughing, Rodney lifts a shoulder and mutters, "I didn't  _not_ mean it." A heavy silence settles between them, but Rodney breaks it fairly quickly, rubbing the back of his head as he says, "Look, about the Kavanagh thing. I didn't..." he trails off, sighing. "I'm sorry, alright. I didn't mean to..." he meets Sheppard's eyes, shrugging again.

"Rodney," Sheppard starts, sighing. "Rodney, I'm not mad about that. I just..."

"I know."

John nods, kicking at a rock, rocking on his heels again.

"I don't hate you," McKay says softly, offering Sheppard a small smile. "Just so you know."

"No, you _like_ me," John teases and Rodney narrows his eyes at him. Sheppard grins, taking a step towards McKay. "You  _like_ me,  _like_ me," he says in a singsong voice.

"Shut up," Rodney grumbles but he's unable to fight a smile.

"That's okay. I like you, too." He takes another step towards Rodney, backing the other boy into a wall.

He leans down, and McKay's heart starts thudding in his chest, his whole body trembling with anticipation, but before their lips can meet a voice exclaims, "That's it, I am putting a chain on this door!"

Sheppard jolts back a step, both boys turning to see O'Neill watching them from the doorway. He has his arms crossed, a disapproving look on his face, and he nods towards the open doorway. "Inside, now."

John looks back at Rodney, grinning, and heads back into the school, McKay rolls his eyes but trails behind him. O'Neill follows them, grumbling under his breath, but McKay can't seem to care. He's too busy trying to get his heart to slow down, too busy trying to process what had almost happened, and silently he resents O'Neill for interrupting them.


	10. You Make My Dreams Come True

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it folks. I want to thank everyone who read, commented, kudo'd, and/or stuck with this story until the end. I think the ending is a tad rushed, but I kinda wanted to get something out of the way. So, yeah, sorry if the ended sounds rushed.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading. I haven't written for SGA in years, so if anything was out of character or not to your standards I'm sorry, and thanks, once again, for sticking with this until the end.
> 
> Bye!!

Things seem to go back to normal over the next few days. John and his friends rejoin Rodney, Cadman, and Beckett at their table (though Ronon always looks like he's sucking on a lemon every time Sheppard chooses to sit close to McKay), and Cadman has stopped trying to push Katie Brown and Rodney together. He can almost forget that he and Sheppard spent a few weeks not talking, can almost forget that Kavanagh very nearly screwed up one of the better things that has happened to Rodney in a long time, and he can move on (or move on as much as someone with a propensity to hold grudges can), but while having Sheppard back in his life is good and all, Rodney is still left wondering what exactly he and John are.

They haven't had the chance to actually talk about what they said on the roof. Rodney's thought about bringing it up a hundred times, but he can't get John alone long enough to talk about the weather much less whether or not they're a couple. And that brings up the question of if John  _want_ _s_ to be a part of a couple or not. Liking someone and dating them are two totally different things. It also makes Rodney wonder what will happen if they start dating only to realize they don't work together. Would they fade out of each others lives for another six years? Or would they forever be stuck in that post-dating limbo where they don't know how to talk to each other but they keep hanging out anyway to keep up appearances? It's a mess, and he's really starting to miss the days when he had been in denial.

"We should go on a date." But in all his worrying, in all his second guessing and questioning of whether or not he's John's... something, Rodney isn't counting on Sheppard bringing it up himself.

Rodney's hand slips on the pawn he was about to move, his head snapping up quick enough to crack his neck. "What?"

"A date," Sheppard repeats staring at the chess board. "Me and you."

"O-okay," Rodney replies slowly, nodding his head.

"Great." John looks up through his eyelashes, a small smile on his face, and McKay scrambles off the desk, knocking the chess board to the floor. He murmurs an apology, wringing his hands, his heart slamming in his chest.

"Are you okay?" Sheppard asks, concern flickering in his eyes.

"I-I'm fine," Rodney stammers nodding towards the door. "I need to use the bathroom." He hurries out of the room, nearly tripping over Ronon's bag in his haste to get to the door, and hurries to the bathroom. He crashes through the door, trying to catch his breath, but it literally feels like someone has reached into his chest and began squeezing his lungs. He's convinced he's dying, there's no other explanation. He finally gets a date with John Sheppard and now he's dying. How is this fair? The universe hates him.

"Rodney," he hears Teyla call, very much aware of the bathroom door opening. "Rodney, are you okay?"

"I-I'm... I'm dying," he wheezes falling back against the sink, clutching at his chest.

"You're not dying." Teyla slowly crosses the room, resting both of her hands on his shoulders, looks him straight in the eyes, and calmly says, "I think you're having a panic attack."

"W-what?" A panic attack? Really? "A-Are you... kidding... me?"

"No." Teyla shakes her head, squeezing his shoulders. "Kate has them occasionally."

"Kate?" Rodney almost asks if Teyla is talking about Katie Brown, but he has a feeling he'd be wrong, so he doesn't ask, and instead concentrates on trying to breath normally.

"Kate Heightmeyer," Teyla supplies with a sad smile. "She graduated last year, so I don't see her very much anymore since she moved to California."

"Are you and she...?"

She nods. "We make it work."

"I'm sorry," Rodney murmurs.

Teyla offers him a pale smile, and McKay reaches up, gripping her shoulder. They stand there for a long moment, neither one speaking, but eventually Teyla asks, "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." Rodney's able to breathe normal again, his lungs no longer feeling as if they were replaced by plastic straws. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Teyla releases him, taking a step back, studying him closely. "What caused it?"

"I have a date," Rodney replies after a brief pause, looking down at his shoes.

"With anyone I know?" Teyla has a knowing smile on her face, already knowing the answer to her question.

"Does he think I blew him off?"

"I think he's more worried than upset."

Rodney nods, looking around the bathroom. He's really got to stop coming in here, people are going to start thinking he suffers from a weak bladder or something (which is possible; his uncle George practically lived in the bathroom the last three years of his life... great now he has that to think about). He searches for something to talk about, needing to get out of his head, and eventually blurts, "Howlonghaveyouknown?"

"Excuse me?" Teyla tilts her head, giving him a questioning look, and Rodney realizes he had spoken  _way_ too fast.

He draws in a deep breath and tries again. "How long have you known? About Sheppard, you know, liking me?"

Teyla smiles kindly and says, "He told me when we were eleven. Actually, I sort of guessed, but I swore never to tell anyone."

"But you're telling me?"

Patting his chest, Teyla says, "Well, you know now." She nods towards the door. "Come on, before John organizes a search party."

When he and Teyla return to the classroom, John gives him a worried look, silently asking Rodney if he's okay, and McKay nods, sitting across from Sheppard. He offers him a pale smile and asks, "So, about this date?"

The worry doesn't quite leave his eyes, but John still huffs with laughter, shaking his head, and says, "Tomorrow night?"

"Alright."

"Seven-thirty?"

"You bet."

"You okay?"

Rodney realizes he's been bobbing his head the entire time and abruptly stops, his lips quirking up in an reassuring smile. "I'm fine. So, tomorrow night, seven-thirty? Alright."

"Okay."

Everyone around them is packing up, getting ready to head home for the weekend, and Rodney follows suit, getting to his feet. John mimics him, grabbing his bag off the floor, still looking at Rodney like he's grown a second head. "You sure you're okay?"

"Fine." McKay picks his bag up, waves at John, and hurries out of the room before he does anything else remotely stupid. How is he going to get through an entire date when he can't even get through a conversation without embarrassing himself? Tomorrow night is going to be a disaster. It takes everything he has not to turn around and cancel the date. Instead he forces himself to keep walking and hopes for the best.

* * *

He can't do this, he cannot do this, tonight is the worst idea in a long history of bad ideas. Rodney paces across his bedroom floor, holding his towel tightly around his waist, fighting the urge to grab his phone and cancel on John. All day he had been doing fairly well, keeping his mind off the date by rewatching the original Star Wars trilogy, but the closer to the date it gets, the less okay Rodney becomes, and now he has no idea what to wear and he's fairly certain he's going to throw up.

Someone knocks on his door, the door swinging open before he can tell whoever it is to go away. He turns too quickly, nearly losing his grip on his towel, and falls to the floor. He looks up at his mother, giving her a narrow eyed look, and says, "What?"

"Why is the Sheppard boy parked in front of our house?" His mother has her hands on her hips, clearly unperturbed by her son's state of dress.

"He's here?" Rodney scrambles to his feet, crossing the room to pick up his phone. "He's an hour early."

"For what?"

"Nothing," McKay answers quickly rushing around his room, picking up the first set of clothes he can get his hands on. He ends up wearing a t-shirt with Einstein's face on it (it's orange and says 'Natural Born Genius') and a pair of green cargo pants. He grabs his shoes from the corner of his room, snatches his hoodie off his chair, and heads towards his bedroom door, only to get stopped by his mother.

"Where are you going?" She crosses her arms, quirking an eyebrow in inquiry, effectively blocking his path.

Rodney barely keeps an annoyed sigh at bay, shaking his head back and forth. "Why does it matter?"

His mother uncrosses her arms, letting them fall limply to her sides, and she suddenly looks years older. Rodney has never seen his mother look this vulnerable, and he can't help the twinge of guilt that settles in his stomach. He takes a breath and starts, "Look, Mom..."

"Do you like this boy?" his mother asks curiously, looking up to meet his eyes, a determined look on her face, all traces of vulnerability gone, and Rodney shouldn't be surprised; she's always been quite adept at hiding her emotions.

Rodney quietly huffs but nods. "Yes, Mom, I like him."

"And you two are going on a date?"

"Yes."

She sniffs and steps to the side. "Alright."

"Thank you." Rodney rushes past his mother, heading towards the door. He passes Jeannie on the way and she gives him an exaggerated thumbs up. Rodney flips her off, letting the door slam shut behind him, and immediately stops, his nerves returning with a vengeance. His hands shake, his shoes and hoodie nearly spilling onto the ground, and he has to take several deep breaths before he gains even an inkling of control.

He takes a moment to put his shoes on, using another few seconds to shrug on his jacket, but finally he's as ready as he'll ever be. He steps off the porch, attempting a smile when Sheppard waves at him, but probably looks as if he has lockjaw. He doesn't do well with nerves, never has, and he feels like he's going to puke again, but he forces himself to calm down as he pulls open Sheppard's car door.

"Hey," John greets when Rodney gets into the car.

"Hi," McKay says faintly, shutting the door.

"You alright?"

"Yes." He draws in a deep breath and says, "You're a little early."

Something flashes in Sheppard's eyes and he quickly looks away from Rodney, glancing down at his steering wheel. He chews on his lip for a moment before saying, "I-I'm a little nervous."

"Oh thank God," Rodney exclaims startling John, the other boy looking at him, surprise evident on his face. "I've been freaking out all night."

"Really?" When McKay nods Sheppard's face breaks out into a relieved smile. "I kept thinking you were going to cancel on me."

"I almost did," Rodney admits sheepishly, and John's smile falls. "Not because I don't want to do this," he adds quickly, trying to reassure the other boy. "I just..." he sucks in a shaky breath, letting it out. "I don't want to screw us up."

"You won't," John answers immediately, his eyes softening. "At least, not on purpose." At Rodney's aghast look, Sheppard says, "I'm only joking. Come on, McKay, I wouldn't have asked you out if I thought we didn't stand a chance."

"Well, I can't exactly read your mind," Rodney grumbles folding his arms tightly across his chest.

"Hey." Sheppard reaches for McKay, resting his hand against his cheek, a fond smile flitting across his face. "I like you, alright. And you like me."

"I'm beginning to rethink that," Rodney jests breathlessly, voice trembling, soaking in the warmth from John's hand still cradling his face.

"Shut up, McKay," John whispers giving Rodney a fake scowl, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"Make me," McKay retorts, the words slipping out before he can reel them in, and for a moment he curses his lack of brain-to-mouth filter. However, the words do not deter John, and the guy grins before leaning over and pressing his lips to Rodney's.

For a brief few seconds, McKay's brain short circuits. He freezes, his breath catching in his throat, and he doesn't know what to do, but then a small voice (sounding, annoyingly enough, like a hybrid between Cadman and Jeannie) tells him to stop being an idiot, effectively snapping him out of his revere. He returns the kiss, letting his left hand settle delicately against Sheppard's neck. He can feel John's pulse thudding against his fingertips, pounding in time with his own heart, and he wonders if there's a college class that revolves solely on kissing John Sheppard because he'd rather be doing this than almost anything else in the world.

Eventually they have to breathe, and Sheppard is the first one to break the kiss. He rests his forehead against Rodney's and whispers, "We can just skip the movie."

"Yeah," Rodney murmurs kissing John again.

After a beat, Sheppard nods and says, "Yeah, we're skipping the movie."

They trade lazy kisses, Rodney's back pressing into the car door, one of Sheppard's knees situated between McKay's legs while the other grinds into his thigh, but Rodney doesn't care. The world could literally be overrun by aliens right this second, and he probably wouldn't even notice. He does, however, notice when someone blares their horn, startling both boys apart.

John laughs softly, his breath warm against Rodney's cheek as he leans against his shoulder. They sit there for a few moments, trying to catch their breath, waiting to regain control of certain parts of their bodies, but Sheppard finally pushes away from McKay, retaking his seat. He clears his throat, toying with the keys in the ignition, kiss swollen lip between his teeth.

"That was..." Rodney starts.

"Yeah," Sheppard agrees hoarsely, nodding his head.

McKay rocks in his seat for a few seconds before carefully asking, "Wanna do it again?"

John grins and says, "I've got nowhere else to be tonight."

As the two boys start kissing again, Rodney can't help silently thanking Mr. Landry. If he hadn't let Sheppard on the chess team this wouldn't be happening. He really needs to send the guy a gift basket or something.

**The End...**


End file.
